Shattering Glass
by ladywarlock
Summary: Suspense, kidnapping and a choice between whats hard and whats harder. Based on suspense so I cant give anything else away. Gary fans are going to have an extra treat.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One:**

"Where Is he?" The black man strode loudly into the previously silent room, filling it with his voice. "I need him to look into the FBI's files, see if we can find anything on a potential alpha."

His words were directed to the man in the chair across the sparcely decorated space. Graying hair bent of files, a wrinkled hand pushed up his glasses as he turned to the large man looking down at him.

"Sandra said he had an off morning so she's driving him here. If he's sick than I intend to take it easy on him. You know Gary doesn't handle illness well." Dr. Rosen's voice just managed to hide his exasperation. Bill had already been to see him 5 times since they arrived, asking the same qusetion as though expecting the answer to change.

"Just go. Read a book, grab some coffee. Gary is sure to be here soon." With those words the doctor turned back to his files again.

Grumbling and muttering silently to himself, Bill strode in the kitchen. Cameron and Nina were already there, whispering and giggling, oblivious that he had joined them. Rolling his eyes, Bill called out:

"Rachel, want a cup of coffee?"

"Please don't yell", sighed Rachel as she strode in, wincing and rubbing her ear. "I was listening to Cameron and Nina's conversation. But yes, I'd like a cup."

"Do you know where Gary is? Has he called you or anything?" He asked, handing her a steaming cup.

"I was actually going to ask you. Didn't you go in to see Rosen?" Her eyes flickered to the figures by the door as she took a seat.

"Yeah. He said his mom's dropping him off."

"Then don't worry about it Bill. He'll be coming out of that elevator soon enough." She told him, and closed her eyes as she resumed her eavesdropping.

Unappeased, Bill returned to his room to pass the time. After starting on his third cup of coffee, he finally heard the elevator opening on their floor.

"About time kid", he laughed striding out of the room. "You had us worried there for a-"

Framed in the door of the elevator was a woman with corn blond hair. Her usually light blue apron was stained in the same crimson that coated her hands and cheeks.

"Lee!" wailed Sandra Bell.

A near empty cup of coffee shattered as it hit the floor.


	2. Something Broken, Something Lost

**Hey, before we begin I'd like to thank you guys for all the reviews! They mean so much to me (and they made me laugh)! Again, I will take criticism and compliments and anything in between. Sorry for the short chapter, it's just easier with my schedule to update short chapters 2 or 3 at a time. And I kind of think of it as scenes from a TV show. Well, I've bored you enough already…Back to the story and enjoy!**

**Chapter 2**

Dr. Rosen ran out the door, momentarily halting at the sight of the woman dripping blood.

"My God, Sandra!" he raced to her side, catching her as she fell with wracking sobs.

"Gary…They took Gary!" she cried hoarsely through her tears.

"Ok. Take a deep breath. Who took-"

"Dr. Rosen!" Rachel knelt by his side. She removed Mrs. Bell's hand. "She's been shot."

"Alright, Cameron call-"

"It's too late. Her heart's beating too fast. She's lost too much blood." Tears fell down Rachel's cheeks as she looked down at the small hole in the fallen woman's abdomen.

Dr. Rosen looked down helplessly at the mother of his youngest agent. _What have I done?_

"Lee…Lee…You…have to…find him," whispered Sandra. "This blood….it's…not all…mine."

"Who took him?" Cameron held out a hand to steady Nina as she shook upon hearing Sandra's words. Only Bill remained frozen by the door, his shattered mug of coffee staining the carpet.

"Men. Men in…black suits. They had guns." Her eyes widened, her head moving weakly from side to side, as though trying to shake an image from her tortured mind. "I couldn't…I couldn't let them take….him. Lee, promise…promise me you'll…find him…promise."

"I promise Sandra. Tell me anything else. Did these men say anything?" His voice cracked as his hands shook where he covered her wound. Trying to keep her alive longer. Failing to keep her alive for tomorrow.

"Benning….Big...Big.." . A single tear rolled down her cheek as she closed her eyes.

"Sandra! Big what!" He shook her shoulders gently, his hands gripping her tight as he bent down so she could whisper in his ear. "Tell him…tell him I love him…and that I'm…I'm…sorry."

"Sandra…Sandra!" Dr. Rosen shook her again. "Tell me, what is Big?"

She opened her eyes to look at him, her tears spilling over her blond lashes.

"Binghamton…they wanted…to take him…to Binghamton."

And with those words, Gary Bell lost everything.


	3. Gone by Morning

**Ok, I stayed up to write this just for you! This is way longer than the earlier ones, so I'm hoping for a positive response. Again thanks for the reviews and I'm glad you like the story, it means a lot. Again, please review, I like to hear what you think. You will get a tiny bit of Gary but I'm trying to hold your attentions. Hope you enjoy and thanks again!**

**Chapter 3**

Dr. Rosen stared, frozen, at the woman in his arms. He lifted his shaking hand to lay it on her neck, hoping to find a pulse. Not finding anything he looked up at Rachel.

"She's gone." She whispered, not bothering to wipe away the tears that fell freely off her coffee colored cheeks.

For a moment the team was silent. Shock immobilized them like pale statues. Dr. Rosen carrying a corpse that stained his white sleeves red. Rachel leaning back on her feet, eyes closed. Cameron holding Nina as they surveyed the scene like ghosts. But it was Bill Harken who stood head bent at the doorway to his office, that shattered the silence.

"I told you." He said looking up. "I told you there was something wrong. If you had listened to me and we had checked-"

"Stop it Bill! We already feel bad enough without you pushing it." snapped Nina, pulling herself from Cameron's arms.

"It's true! You told me nothing was wrong and look! That's Gary's mom lying dead on our floor!"

"We are well aware who it is Bill." Dr. Rosen laid Sandra Bell gently on the floor and closed her unseeing eyes. As he rose, he looked to his hands. _Red like a bandit's_, he thought to himself. _Like a bandit caught red handed_. "Arguing isn't going to help us. Cameron, please call 911 and the FBI, inform them we have a dead woman here who needs to be taken to the Coroner's office. Once we deal with that I'm going to call Agent Sullivan and find out what's going on here".

_Voices. Figures moving in out of sight with white lab coats. He was stretchered on a table that was moving. White lights blinded his half closed eyes at intervals. "The boss said to put it under high security. Hurry up. Don't forget to knock it out. We still have no idea the extent of its abilities. Come on, it's waking up." A man's voice. Pain, then blissful darkness._

"She's not answering," said Dr. Rosen as he shut the phone for the tenth time.

"Then what do we do?" Rachel shivered involuntarily as she imagined what was happening to Gary as they spoke.

"I'm going to her office to speak with her."

"No, you're not". Bill spoke up from his position by the door. The EMT's had gone, leaving a tell tale red stain next to the elevator. "We are all going. If this is a team, we need to act like one."

Nina and Cameron nodded. Rachel turned to Dr. Rosen as he stood thinking, phone still in hand.

"All right. We all go to her office. Then we go to Gary's house, we might be able to understand what happened If we go there. "

The trip to the FBI was long and seemed longer. Traffic seemed to stop them, and with each stoplight a new horror creeped into their minds. Gary strung up. Gary tortured. Gary crying. Gary screaming. Gary lying dead in a lab miles underground. By the time they were ushered to the parking lot, the car was filled with bated breath.

Dr. Rosen led the way as they entered the building. He already knew where Agent Sullivan's office was so there was no need to slow down. When they reached her office Rosen knocked on the dark wooden door. No answer.

"Agent Sullivan, this is Dr. Lee Rosen. I need to speak with you." He knocked again. Still no answer.

"Dr. Rosen, please move out of the way", Bill edged his way to the door. "We don't have much time." And with that he turned the knob and opened the door.

"Barging into someone's office isn't proper etiquette." Agent Sullivan looked up from her files. She sat at a large dark oak desk that looked every much FBI as her dress.

Dr. Rosen walked up to her, only his eyes revealing his anger. "It's also not proper etiquette to ignore someone's calls and not even answer the door when they have come all the way to see you."

"Fine. Take a seat and tell me what you're here for". She gestured graciously at the stiff couch and stiffer chairs that accompanied it. No one took her offer.

"You know why we are here. Where's Gary!" Cameron leaned forward aggressively, calming at Nina's soft touch on his shoulder.

Agent Sullivan turned back to Dr. Rosen. "I won't speak with you about Mr. Bell until your agents have left the room. "

Despite their protests, the younger members left, closing the door reluctantly behind them. Sullivan sighed and gestured to the seat next to her desk. "Sit down Lee."

"Thank you but I'd rather remain standing. Tell what you did with Gary."

"This would be a lot easier if you would calm down and take a seat-"

"This is calm, and its doctor." Rosen strode forward. "You haven't denied that you had a hand in this."

"That's because I did." Agent Sullivan sat down heavily, folding her hands professionally. "The board has agreed that Mr. Bell is a danger to society and himself so must be placed in protective custody. The only center available is Binghamton."

"He's an autistic boy just over the age of 20. Don't you dare tell me he is a danger to you!"

"Have you forgotten that he is a transducer? He can read confidential documents from the Bureau and the government and pass them on to terrorist organizations like Red Flag. We already know he has a friend who is a leader among their ranks-"

"Anna is dead! You killed her remember? You sent her people to heaven or to Binghamton. Not only that, but you killed his mother. Sandra Bell was a civilian. You had absolutely no right to fire at her!"

Agent Sullivan straightened and snapped back. "Mrs. Bell was aiding and abetting a man wanted by the FBI. When my ops team went in we went to secure Mr. Bell. He and his mother fought back so my team had no choice but to open fire-"

"-On an autistic boy and his mother? You fired real shots at them? Not even tranquilizers or tear gas real deadly bullets."

"This is a war Lee, and we may fight it as we please. You have no say!" Agent Sullivan stood up, hands slamming on the desk.

"What of the constitution? What of humans' rights! "

Agent Sullivan laughed. "But that's just it Lee". She looked deep into his eyes. "They aren't human; we don't know what they are. There is no constitution, nor any law on this planet that protects them. Their fates are decided by the government for the welfare of HUMANS around the globe."

"So you would kill them? Experiment on them? Torture them? Treat them no better than animals. Listen to me Sullivan, they are stronger than you. Faster than you. Smarter than you. You talk of war. This isn't going to be a war. A war suggests that both sides have an equal chance of winning. If the alphas make a categorized strike than it will be a massacre of humans, not alphas."

Shocked by his words she stood immobilized. Never in her life had she heard Rosen speak like this. She walked towards the window, looking out at the buildings outside. In the sunlight her face looked tired.

"What is it you want Lee?" She said finally.

"I want Gary out of Binghamton. I want a full report on his health and his wellbeing and I want to see him now."

"I can't allow that." She turned to him, her eyes like ice. "Mr. Bell is staying in Binghamton. Don't cross the lines Lee, or you might find another one of your agents gone by morning."


	4. Anger

**I've got exams so I can't post much. Just thought I'd give you a teaser. Enjoy!**

_He was awake. All he could hear was breathing. Breathing that wasn't his. Something cold and hard. _Metal_ he thought. He didn't open his eyes. Maybe they would go away if they thought he was still asleep. _

"_What is your ability?"_

A deep voice, sounds like he has gravel in his throat._ Gary smiled inwardly. _Gravel in someone's throat, that would be something Bill would say-

_Pain. Then a metallic taste in his mouth. _

"_Tell me, what your ability is!"_

He's so angry, why is he so angry.

_More pain, this time in his stomach. Sucked in breaths through the pain of broken ribs._

"_Open your eyes. I said OPEN YOU'RE EYES!" _

_Lights, so bright they blinded him. Everything was blurry and muddled. A dark figure leaned over him. He wore long blue gloves to his elbows. A white jacket. White like everything else. He leaned over his face. His breath smelled bad._

"_What is your ability?"_


	5. Choices

**OK, I don't know how to put this so I'm going to cut to the chase. Read the bottom note if you are interested in becoming part of this story (after the chapter). Buen Provecho!**

**Chapter 5:**

"So what do we do now? We can't just leave him there!" Despite her efforts, Rachel couldn't hide the panic from her voice.

"I don't know…I don't know". Dr. Rosen sat at his desk, head in hands. Cameron stood by the doorway, his figure seething silent anger. Bill paced through the hallway outside. Nina sat on the chair, staring into space with clenched hands. But it was Rachel that held his attention. She was border-lining hysteria, constantly in motion.

"Come on Dr., you know exactly what we have to do. Stop playing games." Cameron voiced, his tone lathered in irritation.

"Does it look like I'm playing games Mr. Hicks? Because I assure you that if I am it isn't remotely entertaining."

"That what are you doing Doc? Waiting for them to send us Gary's body in pieces inside a cardboard box-"

"Stop it please!" cried Rachel. "Arguing isn't helping Gary. He's going to be fine, right Dr. Rosen? They can't hurt him; he hasn't done anything wrong…"

"I don't know Rachel. I don't know." Dr. Rosen walked to her side, gripping her shoulder in attempted comfort.

"Well I sure as hell don't trust them. Come on Doc, you know what we have to do." Bill walked in the room to stand next to Hicks.

"And you would risk everything. Your wife is looking to start a family. Even if it ends well there would be no going back. You might never see her again. Could you take that risk?"

Bill fell silent. Nina looked up at the gray haired man that she so trusted and spoke in a quavering voice. "What are you're planning?"

Cameron looked from the carpet in understanding and nodded his agreement. "Tyler will be fine; he lives under my ex's name."

Rachel turned to the doctor, tears welling in her eyes. "Will I ever see them again?"

"I don't think so Rachel, not if you want to keep them safe."

Bill straightened and spoke out. "Gary lost everything, all he has is us. Anyway, I guess we all knew this was going to happen in the end."

"We are going to need some help. We need to find Gary's phone, it's the only way we can reach Skylar." The authority returned to Dr. Rosen's voice, comforting those in the room. 

"Dr. Rosen!" by now Nina knew what the team was unanimously deciding; she just needed to hear him say it.

"If they won't give us Gary then we are going to have to go fetch him ourselves. If we are really going to storm Binghamton, than we're going to need help. Bill, look into the FBI's databases, see if you can find anyone who fits the description of an alpha."

**As you can see, the team is going to need some new alphas. So, if you're interested, I'll be accepting you in alpha form to put in the story. Please turn one in soon. If you PM or review me an alpha, state where you want them to be. Binghamton, Red Flag, or if you want them to work with the team. I've already designed some, but I think you guys would like to see yourselves in the story more, am I right? It doesn't have to be you; it could be based on a character from another show or a person you've just made up. More info the better. I know it's unfair, but if you want me to post soon than it's going to be a first come first serve for main. I hope this is a sufficient way to thank you for your reviews and I hope you are as excited about this as I am. Any questions feel free to put them in a review and a PM and I'll probably reply in at most 24 hours. Waiting to hear what you think,**

**-theuntitled**


	6. I promise

I am so sorry for the late update. I've been insanely busy. Thanks for everyone who sent in characters, especially SpottedPool, we had some great discussions. I received two anonymous characters via reviews and I just want to tell you now that they are great characters, but if I can't reply to them they aren't going to turn out exactly how you imagined them. If you guys don't want to PM me (please review anyway :D) you can reach me at . Again thank you for the reviews, they make my day! Please continue giving me characters or I'm just going to put the ones I made up in the lead roles. Remember, it's never too late to send one in. Cheers, -the untitled

Cameron drove and Nina sat quietly in the driver's seat. Rachel sighed softly as she looked out the window. Her breath fogged the glass as she watched the picturesque neighborhoods passing by. The sun fell on her dark hair as she set her head against the warm glass. _How did this happen_ she thought to herself. When they pulled up to the house the friends waited in the car for a moment. Everything looked so normal. No footprints dented the perfect lawn, no shards of broken glass glinted on the floor. They walked out apprehensively, Cameron and Nina watching Rachel as her eyes focused and her breathing slowed.

"They were here. 10 men. I can smell their sweat on the driveway."

"Is there anyone inside?" Cameron asked, glancing towards the familiar building.

"One heartbeat. Male." She whispered. Cameron nodded at Nina and the group strode towards the door. The tall alpha rung the doorbell and waited, letting Nina take his place leading the group. A young policeman opened the door. He didn't even have time to ask who they were before Nina looked him dangerously in the eye.

"_Your boss told you to leave. You won't come back here." _

The policeman nodded and walked down the street in a trance. Nina pushed open the door and walked in, sucking in a breath as she surveyed the scene.

Furniture was scattered broken on the floor. Bloody footsteps painted the carpet and wood. The light colored walls were splattered in crimson. Dark drag marks could be seen on the carpet on the stairs.

. "Which…which blood is Gary's?" asked Cameron, his voice hoarse.

Rachel's eyes filled with tears.

"The drag marks on the stairs…the walls are covered in Mrs. Bell's…there is more upstairs." She climbed the stairs slowly, careful not to step on the dark stains that their friend had created. Nina and Cameron followed silently.

Gary's room was turned upside down. The once immaculate bedroom was barely recognizable. The bed was broken in the center, the sheets torn. The drawers and closets were emptied; clothes littered the floor like a second carpet.

Cameron walked through the debris to the bedside table. It alone was intact. He picked up a blue band that lay forgotten on the worn wood. "They were looking for something." His voice lathered in pain in anger. "I don't think they found it."

"What could they be looking for? Gary has everything on his-wait, Cameron, can you see his phone anywhere?" Nina began scanning the floor desperately. If they had the gift from Skylar then they would know everything.

"It's over here." Whispered Rachel. She held the phone gingerly in her hands. Standing in front of the door, her other hand cradling the dark blue jacket hung there. "They never thought to look in his pockets."

"They probably came at the crack of dawn. Sandra was probably getting Gary's cereal ready." Nina smiled at the memory. It vanished as she continued. "Gary was probably just getting up. You know Gary doesn't like mornings. They attacked him at a time where he couldn't remember to send us a message."

Cameron gripped the blue band tightly then slipped it on. _I'm going to give this back to him. I promise._


	7. Icy Halls

**Sorry for the late chapter, I've been buried! But I'm bored of studying and I wrote this chapter and had it proof-read by the new alpha that you get a sneak peak of. So standing ovation to Spotted Pool for giving me this character! As always, your reviews mean the world and help me get through the day (the guilt method, you **_**have**_** to review now :D). Thanks a lot for everything, I'm starting to write in your characters, there are still slots and I won't put in my characters until I'm sure that anyone who wanted to submit got to submit. The PM box is open as always and my email is in the previous chapter. Love to all, **

**-the untitled**

_His bare feet dragged against the icy floor. Through his moments of consciousness, he was aware of a sharp pain in his shoulders. Rough hands bruising his pale skin. The thin white fabric, torn already from times when he was thrown against the floor, did little to help against the cold halls._

_ A familiar buzzing and opening as the cell door opened. They never kept him in the same room for more than a day. The rough hands through him inside and even through his exhaustion he managed a groan of pain as the cold surface tore at his thin clothes and delicate flesh. He closed his eyes. Blissful darkness._

_ "Hey." A soft voice entered his mind. Feminine, young. "Yeah you, come to the door."_

_ He shifted himself up. He'd heard no kind voice since he had entered this place. He struggled to his feet and staggered to the door. The short distance put black spots in his vision. _

_ "What's your name?" he looked through the small slit in the door and was surprised to meet two warm hazel eyes in the slit of a door across an immaculately clean hallway. _

_ "Gary", he rasped. The eyes flashed with sympathy._

_ "The first year is always the worst. I know you're hurting…"_

_Both sets of eyes turned down the hall where footsteps could be heard echoing towards them. The girl's eyes widened in fear._

_ "You must never let them know how strong you are", she managed before she drew back into her cell. Gary watched as two men in long white coats opened her door and dragged her out. Tall and pale with long brown hair, she exuded the air of someone who missed the sun. They pulled her through the hallways. As they passed him she turned to meet his eyes again. Then they were gone._

_ He fell to the floor and pulled his knees close to him in an attempt to stay the shivers he knew would come. Covered his ears as the screaming began. _


	8. Defiant, Demiurge, Different

**Before I begin I would like to say I'm sorry for the short chapters. I don't have time to sit down and write so when I take a break or I'm in between classes I write. I'm thinking you would rather have short chapters updated frequently rather than long chapters updated after a long period of time…If I'm wrong please correct me in a review! Mental **_insert food of choice_** to everyone who is reading and reviewing! I'd like to give a shout out to ultrablonde and an anon reviewer for giving me these characters! Round of applause and I hope everyone likes the way I chose to preview them. Hope to write to you soon, with all of my love,**

**-theuntitled**

**Defiant**

She curled up on the hard bed. The florescent lights threw the scars left by numerous shots and IV's into harsh view, her brown hair cropped to her ears. She closed her light brown eyes. Clenched her fists as anger entered her mind, the potent chemicals sending neurons to the tips of her fingers. She leaned back and looked straight at the camera defiantly, all the while a small ball of fire played in and around her fingertips.

**Demiurge**

"You'd never understand, so LEAVE ME ALONE!" she said slamming the door. Jumping on her plushy couch she pulled the orange notebook to her lap, pencil at the ready. _It's not my fault the algebra teacher is an ass hole_. She sighed softly and opened the creased and folded notebook to gaze at the pencil sketches and messy writing that adorned its lined pages. Flipped to a new page and poised her pencil to capture the anger into the words that made life worth living. She turned to the door. _They won't be here for a while_. She set down the pencil and sat cross legged, focusing on the paper and pencil.

A bird rested on the windowsill, and looked through the pristine glass. The pencil skimmed over the paper as the girl closed her eyes, her curly auburn hair falling down on the page. Her pale hands rested at her side.

**Different**

"But professor..."

"I'm sorry Amy, but I really can't stay. I lecture at collages all over the country and I'm due in New York the day after tomorrow..."

"Come on, everyone likes you here Mr. Z!", a boy with brown hair called out.

"I'm flattered, and I like you all, but this is my life. It's been a pleasure teaching you all."

Tall and thin, the man strode from the room of doleful students, his brown leather bag slung over his shoulder. He pulled a hand through his ink black hair, his light blue eyes unfocused as he lost himself to thoughts. The black car that was his home was parked in the parking lot, the glass shimmering in the sun.

"Damn." he looked back, his keys were still in the lecture room. But he wasn't going back. Pulled out his wallet and took from it two silver quarters. His eyes flickered as he covered them with his long fingers. When his hands opened a silver key identical to the one he lost appeared. Opening the door, he slid into the warm leather seat.

_New York, here I come._


	9. Hazel

**Only one review for chapter 8! Ouch guys, that hurts :P. So sorry AGAIN for the late update, but I've been on break overseas and I just managed to get internet! I know excuses excuses…but please forgive your humble author. I've decided I will actually post a long chapter this time (well long in my book). Thank you for the reviews( I know now you're going to review immediately)! My PM box is still open for more alphas! Hoping to post soon, **

**-the untitled**

"I called Skylar, she said she'd be here as soon as she can." Nina said walking into the room where the rest of the team cradled laptops. "Any sign of an alpha?"

"No, not yet." Dr. Rosen looked up at the dark haired alpha. There were dark circles under her eyes, her hair tangled and messy. He suddenly realized that since they realized Gary was missing, the team hadn't changed or showered. _ Amazing, _the psychiatrist in him thought. _What fear does too people. _

"Isn't it funny how when we need Gary he's not here? All this searching stuff would have been a lot easier with him here." Bill leaned back in his chair, speaking bitterly.

"Yeah, it makes you realize how special the little guy was..." Added Cameron.

"That's it!" Rachel cried. "Think like Gary, if Gary was looking for a potential alpha, how would he do it?"

"He would make search perimeters." Bill leaned over on his laptop. "Guys, what are places you could find an alpha?"

"Asylums, Law enforcement, teaching positions…" Dr. Rosen listed.

"Ok, let's start with asylums, an alpha with an ability we need would stand out. Let's look in asylums in New York; we don't have time to travel across the country to find an alpha." Bill clicked on the first New York asylum that came up. "Hamptons Institute for the Medically Insane. Let's pay them a visit."

"Remind me again what we're doing?" Dr. Rosen whispered nervously as they walked towards the hospital doors.

"We're going to go in, we are going to show our badges and question the doctors about any special patients. When we are done we're going to have Nina push them so that they forget what happened." Cameron answered by his side.

"Why does Nina have to push them?"

"In case Sullivan goes snooping around. We don't want her knowing what we're up too. Come on Doc, pay attention!"

Cameron just finished speaking when they reached the front counter of the asylum. In unison, they pulled out their badges for the secretary seated there. No questions asked, the secretary led them to the head doctor. She was used to government officials asking about patients. The doctor's office was barren. A hard black leather sofa was placed in front of a large mahogany desk. Immaculately clean, the desk was as sparse as the room. The man sitting at the other end of it was the complete opposite. In fact to be more descriptive, he looked like a very colorful bug. Yes he wore the traditional knee length white jacket, but it covered a yellow turtle neck and blue pants. Purple glasses adorned his face, their thick rims round and shiny. The man looked to be in his 50s. The team stood for a moment in shock of his strange appearance as the secretary introduced them.

"Dr. Hampton, these are some members from…where did you say you worked?" Noticing that they were still busy studying the Doctor she continued. "They are here to talk to you about our patients."

"Lovely, please take a seat." Dr. Hampton's voice was deep and soothing. "I can see you're a little taken back by my appearance, but I assure you it is for my patients' sake not mine. I find they respond better to color. While I don't paint the walls, I make sure my nurses and doctors dress a little eccentrically. That way it seems more like a home and less like a morgue."

"Of course." Dr. Rosen sat down, the rest of the team followed suit.

"So, is there a specific patient you're looking for…?"

"Yes. We are looking for one of your more…different patients. Someone who would stick out." Bill said.

The doctor laughed. "This facility has been in my family for 7 generations. This is an asylum for the medically insane; I've seen quite a few interesting patients. Could you be more specific?"

"Someone who doesn't fall under the normal medical stratifications. Someone with a condition that hasn't been studied or seen before." Lee added.

"We have a few with rare forms of schizophrenia…oh, yes we have one very…well her name is Hazel McKinley. She's 16 and has been here for 6 years. She's a pyromaniac from what I can tell. She manages to start fires everywhere with anything. It would be amazing but the fires she sets are…different. I know this is going to sound silly, but it looks like she can control the fire. I know, crazy right? But it's just what I've observed."

"No." Dr. Rosen smiled. "Thank you, she sounds like the kind of person we're looking for. Can we see her?"

"I'm so sorry but no, not without a warrant or a signed permission form from her parents. She's still a minor."

Nina leaned forward, pulling a piece of paper off his desk, handing it too him. When he caught her eyes she began speaking. _"Here is the signed permission form."_

Dr. Hampton looked down at the paper and smiled. "Perfect! I'll lead you to her."

The alpha team followed the eccentrically dressed Doctor down clean white hallways. Here and there they would catch a glimpse of a patient, but it looked like the nurses had kept them inside for the visitors' sake. They passed several locked doors and passed through many more. After what seemed like an eternity they reached a large silver door.

"In here are our most dangerous patients. Please, when you pass don't look. Keep your eyes focused on your feet and pay them no mind. Looking at them will only excite them. They usually don't get visitors."

With that he unlocked the door with a code and eye scan. When they door opened, it felt like they were entering the gates of hell. Despite focusing on their feet as they walked down the long corridor they could hear screaming and talking all the way down. The patients banged on the doors as they passed.

"Please, Please, Let me out! Let me out! The angels, they need me!"

"Murderers! Murderers! I'll kill you all!"

"Come to me, I'll sing you a song. Tell who you love and who you will love!"

"They are coming. Run…run…they are coming."

"Twinkle twinkle little star. How bloody you are…"

It was relief when they reached another large door at the end. The Doctor quickly ushered them inside. When they looked up, the team found themselves in a dark room with a window to a white room. Monitors showed all angles of the cell, and shining in each one was a figure curled up on a white cot. Knees pulled up to her chest, her neck arched upwards, face turned to the ceiling. Her eyes were closed, her hair light brown and cropped short. But that wasn't what the team was transfixed by. Weaving in and out of her long pale fingers was a small ball of fire not larger than a quarter. It didn't take any questioning to realize she was an alpha.

"Do you mind if we talk to her?" Cameron asked, eyes frozen on the small figure in the room.

"She's so young…", whispered Rachel.

"If you want to, but when she gets angry, please return inside. She has a bad temper."

"Rachel." Dr. Rosen nodded towards her and gestured for her to enter the room with him. The rest of the team stood transfixed, waiting to see how this young alpha would react to meeting people like her.

Dr. Rosen closed the door behind Rachel softly and quietly approached the young girl.

"Hello Hazel. My name is Dr. Rosen and this is my partner Rachel. Do you mind—"

"…If we ask you a few questions? Then if you don't mind we're going to run a few tests. Don't worry, it won't hurt and it won't take long. I've lived here long enough to know that's all bullshit. If you want to take blood, take it. If you have questions, ask them. Don't sugar coat it to make it seem like I have a choice, because we both know I don't." The girl didn't open her eyes, or move at all. Now closer, Rachel could see the light freckles on her pale skin. That and white spots up her arms. The evidence of testing done frequently and over a long period of time. Sickened, Rachel turned to Dr. Rosen.

"We're not here to run any tests. We just need you to watch and listen. You're not alone. There are people like you-"

Hazel laughed. "_There are people like you_". She repeated, mimicking Dr. Rosen. "That never gets old. Who is it this time? Another crazy guy with an obsession with matches? Or a woman who likes burning herself?"

Dr. Rosen fell silent for a moment, and then turned to the black glass where he knew Nina was watching them. He nodded once.

Nina turned to . "Doctor…"

"Yes—"

The moment their eyes met Nina gently pushed him. _"You are okay with us staying here alone. If there are any cameras in this room you will turn them off. Then you will go to your office and stay there until we leave." _

The Doctor nodded and walked out in a trance, eyes locked forward as he left the room.

Even though Dr. Rosen witnessed none of this, he knew Nina had done what she had to do. The rest of the team walked in, and still Hazel didn't open her eyes.

"Hazel. These people here are people like you, people with special abilities. They are alphas, and we think you are also an alpha.

The young girl opened her eyes, looking surprised at the mismatched persons in front of her. An old gray haired man who looked sympathetically at her. A copper skinned lady with pretty eyes. A big black man dressed in a black suit. A tall thin white guy with a tight jaw. A beautiful pale lady with ebony hair. The only thing they seemed to have in common was a tiredness about them, that and despite what the old doctor was saying, a very serious demeanor.

"Is this a joke?" She said finally. "If you're like me, prove it."

"You show us yours and we'll show you ours." The tall man said.

"No. I won't show you anything until you prove to me that you're telling me the truth."

Dr. Rosen turned to the black man. "Bill, your ability is the most tangible."

Hazel watched apprehensively as the large man, or Bill, walked towards her cot. He rolled up his sleeves and began to breathe heavily. The young patient began to see beads of sweat rolling down his dark skin, then; all of a sudden, he reached forward and grabbed her bed then lifted it up with her still on it.

Years of hiding emotions served her well, for as she didn't utter a word as she found herself in the air.

"Enough." Hazel whispered and the man set her down. She froze for a moment, seeing her visitors with new eyes.

"Are all of you…super strong?" she gulped.

"No Hazel." Dr. Rosen sat down on the other end of the bed. "I don't have an ability, let's just say I'm a supervisor. Rachel Pirzad here…" he gestured to the lady with the pretty eyes "can heighten any of her senses. Nina Theroux "he said turning to the black haired beauty "can make people do what she wants them too. Bill Harkin, as you saw, can fill his body with adrenaline to make him stronger. Cameron Hicks, "he pointed to the tall man, "has a mind that is very in tune with his body, so he has flawless aim and perfect balance. "And Gary—" The gray haired man stopped, then hurriedly recovered.

"See, we've proven to you that we are not lying. Now show us what you can do. Tell us your story."

Hazel looked at them nervously. She took a deep breath and leaned back, looking at her hand. The team's eyes widened as a tiny ball of flame appeared from her fingertips, watched in wonder as she turned the ball of flame into the shape of a little girl holding a balloon.

"It all began when I was 6 years old…"


	10. Balloons and Wax

**Hey guys, me again. It's approximately 12:07 am. All is quiet in my house, everyone except me who currently writes to you from under the covers of the bed sheets. Dramatic, eh? Well, this chapter is going to be a bit different. You'll get a line or two of intro than I'm going to write kind of a story within a story all in the mind of our dear friend Hazel. I've received more alphas that I am eager to incorporate into the story, but give me some time to introduce them. Thank you for the lovely reviews, you make me blush with your flattering remarks. I hope to see more after I post this! Hopefully we can get out of the 30s zone. So enjoy and review!**

Through strokes of fire and smoke Hazel told her tale. Her words whispering to the memories, bringing us to a fall day.

_A young girl with light brown hair caught in pigtails runs through the autumn leaves, a red balloon in hand._

"_Daddy, Daddy. I want to ride in the balloon!" she says, giving her father a pleading look. Her father smiles down at her, than reached down and ruffles her hair._

"_Sure, whatever you want sweetie."_

_He holds hands with the young girls mother, now pregnant with another child. The family is one of many at this autumn carnival, and the sounds of bells and laughing children ring through every molecule of the buzzing air. The weather is cold and crisp but because of all the people a person could wear a light jacket and remain unaffected by the chill._

_The proud parents hurry behind their daughter, who runs to the hot air balloon at the edge of the carnival. A line of children wait there, eager to see the world from the sky. After paying the fee, young Hazel gives her mom and dad a kiss before running off to join the others, her brown eyes glittering with anticipation. _

_The balloon director fill the colorful cloth with air and loads the 7 little passengers into the basket. After running several safety checks he lifts off the ground. Hazel and the children screech and giggle, waving to their parents who shrink more and more as the wind carries them up to the cloudless sky. The young girl closes her eyes, feeling the wind in her hair and the sun on her fair cheeks. Suddenly, out of nowhere a boy pulls her back, making her fall to the floor of the basket. As she falls her head hits the back of the basket, and she begins to cry._

"_Baby!" The boy and his friends taunt and the watching children begin to laugh. The balloon conductor does nothing._

_Hazel closes her eyes, cheeks burning red with embarrassment. Suddenly, a white hot anger fills her and she begins to hear the blood pounding in her ears. She opens her eyes._

_From the ground the parents watch anxiously at the colorful balloon as it floats above them. Screams slice the festive air as people watch in horror as the balloon explodes fire bursting from every seam. Smoke follows the balloon as it falls to the floor, the cries of children hardly heard over the sounds of sirens blaring towards the scene. _

_There were 7 deaths in the air balloon accident. 7 deaths that would haunt to small suburban community for months as parents and friends grieved the loss of a generous balloon conductor and 6 young children all under the age of 10. The tragedy, however, would haunt none as much as the seven year old survivor of the horrible accident. No one had a clue how little Hazel McKinley lived through the incident with little more than a head wound, cuts and bruises. Doctors would shake their heads in wonder how despite the roaring fire the melted the flesh off the other passengers, the child had not a burn on her. Some called it a miracle. Some a queer accident. Other's a gift from god, with Church men preaching how Hazel McKinley was meant for something great._

_Yet none of that mattered to Hazel because after the accident she began to notice strange things happening to her. During her 8'th birthday, when she tried to blow out the candles, they exploded and burnt the beautiful Barbie cake to a crisp. Her parent's blamed it on bad quality wax. _

_However Hazel McKinley knew that the wax wasn't to blame. Her mother became worried when scorch marks appeared on her bed, and her favorite clothes went missing. Most of all what worried her was the way her young daughter's bedroom always smelled of smoke._

_Hazel's little brother Henry was born when Hazel was close to turning 9. Even from a young age she was a good big sister, always playing with him. Never complaining about how he woke her up from her sleep with fits of crying. A year passed and now Hazel approached ten years of age._

_One day Hazel's mother picked up Hazel from school, noticing she was a little quieter than usual. But she didn't say anything and when they arrived home Hazel went to her room and closed the door. Not a peep came from her. The phone rang. It was the principal asking to meet up with her parents because it looked like the 9 year old started a fire in the playground. When Hazel's father returned home they marched into her room._

_When they went in Mrs. McKinley sat at the foot of her daughter's bed, watching her daughter as the young girl played with her hands._

"_What happened sweetie? How did you set a fire? Why?"_

_Hazel looked up, tears threatening to brim over her long eyelashes._

"_I don't mean to! It just happens! You have to believe me!"_

"_What do you mean "it just happens"? You set fire to the playground! Someone could have gotten hurt!" Her father shouted._

"_It's TRUE!" Hazel screamed and suddenly a fire burst from her hands, setting fire to the bed. Her mother screamed and ran out the door, her husband close behind her. The fire lit up the old wooden boards, eating through the floor and devouring the home of the McKinley family. Hazel ran out the door, tears streaming down her face. _

_The house was destroyed in the fire. But that was not all. Baby Henry died from suffocation due to the smoke in his lungs. The parents grieved and in a unanimous decision they sent her to Hampton's Institute for the Medically Insane where she was written down as a pyromaniac and left there at the mercy of researchers and doctors. Her parent's visited her once to ensure she settled in, than she never heard of them again._

Hazel opened her eyes and stopped talking. The fires in her hands disappeared, leaving nothing but tell-tale black threads to capture the balloons and wax in which lay her untold tale.


	11. Questions

**Hello my lovely readers! Before I begin I would like to thank ultrablonde for your super nice review, love you too! And I know I can always count on Teyerin to give me the right response to make me a better writer. So now that the niceties are done, let's get down to business. Review if you have the time. I hope to post chapters quicker for you guys, what do you think if I posted 400+ words every night? Short but I guess you would at least get more story. Tell me what your preference is. This is a pretty haunting chapter, Haven't written those in a while so enjoy!**

They must never know how strong you are. _The words whispered in his head, his mind roiling with what he had seen. He didn't know how long he had been here in this place. In this hell. In fact he didn't know anything anymore. It was all bright lights and white walls, blood and screams. No one cared for another here, all too busy worrying about the tall men in white coats that could march through the door at any instant. Asking questions you didn't know the answer to._

_He closed his eyes and lay still. He tried to take a deep breath but even that brought pain that shook his frail body to near unconsciousness. A buzz at the door. They were here._

_Hands grasped at him, dragging him down halls that were never familiar. He curled his bare feet against the polished floors, never daring to raise his eyes from the glimmering shine of the corridors. He had seen what those halls looked like. Seen the haunted eyes of the patients there, skin pale from malnutrition and lack of sunlight. There were no windows, no doors, no way out. _

_Another buzz and a door opened with a hiss. They threw him on the table, strapping his limbs to the cold metal. _

"_Tell me….Mr. Bell…who do you correspond with in Red Flag?"_

"_Nobody." A sharp pain laced his feet, a whip of steel blades._

"_Anna. She was your friend? Don't you talk to her? Hmmm?"_

"_Anna is dead. You killed her." This time the pain laced his torso, bringing a cry from his bitten lips._

"_Yes Gary. That's because we are here to help."_

_Gary opened his eyes. They took a while to adjust against the medical light above his head. Silhouetted in the brightness was the doctor. Blonde hair and pale skin. _

"_My friends. They are coming for me."_

_A cold laugh came from a precise mouth. "They aren't your friends. They use you for your ability."_

"_You're a liar!" A heavy hand slammed into his head, and for a moment blissful darkness held him close until cold water shocked him from her embrace._

"_I don't lie Mr. Bell. Now enough games. Tell me who your correspondent is!"_

"_I don't…I don't work for… Red Flag…"_

_The head leaned in close, he could smell the minty breathe close to his ear._

"_Remember Mr. Bell, no matter how bad things are now. They can always get worse."_

**Sorry for the tininess but it's late and I plan to get some shut eye. Good night!**


	12. Gasp

**Hello Lot! It's your author to give you yet another establishment of my tale. I am happy right now as you can tell because I finished a ton of homework and am ahead! YES! So I have time to write to you and talk to you and message you…and do stuff with you…yes… Writing this in algebra during some free time so this chapter is coming from a hard blue plastic chair. Does it affect my writing? Review to let me know **

**PS: marystout13, thank you for the lovely review and I would be delighted to include you in the story. If you could pm me or design a character in a review I will put you in **

Dr. Rosen sat on the bed, head in hands. The rest of the team stood stricken. As alphas they had dealt with secrecy and the pain that comes with being different but Hazel's story…Hazel's life was something else.

"Hazel." Dr. Rosen looked up at the young pyromaniac. " I need to tell you why we came to see you."

"Shoot."

"You have to be sure about this. If we tell you there is a chance that you could be imprisoned or even killed." Rachel sat down next to her, wearing an expression of concern.

"Look around you." Hazel gestured at the barren room and the cameras that hung from every corner. "I have nothing to lose. Even death is better than living out the rest of my life as a lab rat in a cell."

Dr. Rosen nodded then turned to Nina and Cameron.

"Pay Dr. Howard a visit. Make sure that when you leave, Hazel McKinley never existed here."

"Mrs. Sullivan, are you sure detaining one alpha was worth provoking the alpha team? He was barely over 20 and autistic…"

"Don't you see Andrew, it wasn't about who we took. We could have taken the little brown haired girl or the black Agent. Mr. Bell was only the easiest to capture, and will probably be the easiest to break. And like you mentioned, he is autistic. I chose him, the boy always creeped me out. I knew that taking him would hit a nerve."

"I'm sorry Mrs. Sullivan, I don't understand. What is it you want from them? They've done everything we asked, not to mention they are the only chance we have against Red Flag." The nervous agent looked up at the demanding lady standing by the window. His mousey brown hair set off his pale skin and quick eyes, he was usually a confident fellow, but with Agent Sullivan that was a completely different matter. She turned around, catching him with a hawk's gaze.

"You're not look at the big picture. We have watched the Alpha team persistently, we know that they are as close as family. You capture one, you draw out the rest."

Agent Andrew Grallind's eyes widened as he began to comprehend what Agent Sullivan was getting at. "You mean you expect them to invade Binghamton…"

"Why of course. I'd be rather disappointed if they didn't. They'll bring some alpha friends and stroll in, believing that they're going to walk out with that autistic boy in tow. But in reality, none of them will walk out, let alone Mr. Bell. No, he'll be dead and buried before they walk through the doors."

"_Again."_

_He gasped for breath. Not enough time. Hard hands on the back of his bare neck pushed his head and torso into the icy water. Cold water tore at his skin as he struggled against his captor. Bubbles burst from his mouth and icy water poured down his throat and into his lungs. The hand pulled him out again and the air greeted his lungs like an old friend. Frail body shaking under wracking coughs and shivers. _

"_Agai—"_

"_Please!" he spluttered as the hands threatened to return him to the water's dark embrace. "I don't…know…let me… …I'll find out…" he shivered, lip trembling. Every breath felt like an icicle through the chest. _

"_Ahhh, you know we can't let you do that. Now. Tell me. Where does Rachel Pirzad's father live?"_

"_NO!"_

"_Why?"_

"_BECAUSE I HAVE….A…BAD…ADITUDE!" he hadn't time to take a gasp when his body met the water again. Warm tears rushed from his eyes into the cold water. His body struggled. He couldn't breathe. The pale body went limp._

_The Doctors shoes rung sharply on the linoleum floors. Clip, clack. Clip, Clack. He placed his hand on the alpha's soaking neck. He looked up at his companion who pulled the body out and let it fall to the hard floor. _

"_Hmm. looks like we kept him in a little too long."_


	13. I Wanna Hold Your Hand

**Hey guys, HAPPY THANKSGIVING (for those who celebrate it)! I've been listening to a sentimental song 3 hours straight, so naturally doubled with Thanksgiving, I'm feeling deep thus I'd like to start off by thanking you all for your support.**

**Ultrablonde: Thank you for your consistent support, I know that when no one else reviews, you'll always be there to offer words of insane kindness. You were the first to review, and I know you'll be the last. Thank you for your character!**

**MarshmallowPiggs: Though I havn't heard from you in a while, Thank you for being one of the first to support me and help me continue the story.**

**Ama Sohma Bell: Thank you for making me laugh every time I read your reviews!**

**68 guns: Thanks for the honest reviews, you really help me understand what people are feeling when they are reading my chapters.**

**Teyerin: Ah Teyerin, Thank you for making me feel like a real author, for taking me seriously. You've been consistently messaging me, making me feel important. It means so much to me that you like my story.**

**OneDayTheRobotsWillCry: Havn't heard from you much, but thank you for your extremely bipolar first review!**

**SpottedPool: Thank you for your patience with me! You set me this brilliant character that I'm itching to use but I haven't had the chance to put her in much, but you didn't get mad at me, or at least I hope you're not mad at me Oh, and thanks for the bunny!**

**Super Ario: I'm thankful to have met you, and now you're one of my favorites that I follow on Tumblr, and one of those who has made me proud of being an author.**

**Pidia: Thankyou for your sweet reviews and your funky faces 0_o**

**.Telly: Thank you for your multiple smiley faces (sorry my niceness bar is decreasing). **

**InsideYourDreams24: Thank you for being a MCavoy fan yeah, I'm a stalker, saw your picture :D**

**Marystout13: Thank you for you're interest and I would love to include you in the story!**

**Okay, Sorry for the insanely long cheesy thank you notes but I just had to. In all, Thanks to all of you, reviewers or readers, for your support. I don't think you understand how much it means to me. You've put up with the long time between updates and the long silly messages at the beginning of every chapter. Love you all and enjoy the next chapter!**

_Years ago .High school. Junior year. _

_He leaned his head against the cold glass of the window. Around him all he could hear was laughter from around the bus. He raised the volume of the song, the signal a dark pink. He closed his gray blue eyes. _

_A small paper hit him in the middle of the forehead, shocking him from the darkness. Opening his eyes he looked at the paper. A snickers wrapper, still full of melted chocolate. He wiped the dark brown chocolate from his pale face, than studied the melted chocolate on his hand. Wiped it on the seat, raised the volume and closed his eyes again. A protection from the splitting head ache. _

_A group of small papers hit him in the face again. He gripped his eyes shut, remaining perfectly still. _Maybe if I don't respond they'll stop. _No such luck._

"_Hey TRASHCAN! Why don't you open those blank eyes for us? Hey Trashcan, TRASHCAN!"_

"_I don't think he understands you .Poor Trashcan, he's so STUPID" .Snickers erupted from around him. _

Stay still. _He tried desperately to keep his eyes shut. He raised the volume on the signal until it was blasting around him. It didn't keep the voices out._

"_Look. He's doing the funny hand thing again. What are you doing trashcan? Huh? Is that how you flick people off in loser-ville or wherever you spend your time?"_

_This time the whole back of the bus burst into laughter. High fives shared amid girls' high pitched giggles. The bus jolted, the boy's head hit the window painfully, releasing yet another wave of laughter. He leaned his head back against the stiff brown leather seat. Opened his gray blue eyes in time to see a large figure in a brilliant red jacket sit heavily next to him, a large muscular arm placed around his thin frame. The hand lifted the boy's pale hand. Squeezed it. _

"_Look, there is nothing there. Trashcan you have to start working out. Come on boys, let's give him something to put some meat on these girly bones." A group of red clad figures surrounded the seat. A hand pulled at his black hair, wrenching his head back painfully. Other hands forced pale wrappers down his throat. Tears filled his eyes, but they never spilled down his angular cheeks. The hands let him go. He coughed the papers out. More laughter. _

"_Don't litter trashcan! Fine is 500 dollars, and we know your parents can't afford that, they're too busy paying for you to go to this school! That and your medication!"_

"_Yeah, trashcan's a druggie!"_

_The boy with the pale eyes reached helplessly for his bag. He was too late. The contents spilled on the dirty floor to be stepped on by numerous feet. A hand grabbed the pills. Pale eyes stood up, reaching for them. He was too short. His frail body hit the floor as a red clad figure pushed him aside. He raised his pale face, his eyes desperate as a boy with blonde hair removed a small cylinder from his backpack. The little cylinder shook, the sounds of pills falling to the floor_

"_Don…Don.." he whispered, grasping for them._

"_Don..Don…What Trashcan? Want to say something?" The boy raised him up from the collar, both swaying with the movement of the bus. He whispered quietly in his ear._

"_Freaks don't belong here. They never will. So go back to whatever hell you were born in." _

_He threw him on the floor. The boy's pale face hit the floor, his wrist snapping as it slammed against the iron supports of the seats. Mud lined his immaculate blue shirt. Small pills fell around him, and as he reached for them feet crushed them to powder before his very eyes._

_He closed his eyes. Locking away the laughter, the brightness of the signals. Locking away the pain of being different._

* * *

><p><em>He opened the door of the small house, the hinges singing as the door squeaked to an open.<em>

"_Hey Gary!" A woman with soft blonde hair embraced him, kissing his forehead. He smelled her soft familiar scent, the smell of roses and cooking. She looked at him, frowning._

"_Why are you muddy?"_

"_The weather is bad outside…Now I'm going to my room. Have to work on homework."_

"_Well, finish quickly; we have a meeting with the Doctor today. Love you!"_

"_Love you too mom."_

* * *

><p><em>Rough hands hit him against the rough lockers, the silver locks digging into his back. He felt hot breath on his face.<em>

"_Freak. You will always be a freak. You were born a freak. You'll die a freak."_

_The hands let go and he slid to the carpeted floors of the rich private school. _What did I do. What have I done to deserve this.

_He looked up, watching thousands of signals as they swam amid his vision. They twirled in and out of the busy hallways. Danced with each other to the music of a thousand voices, a thousand videos, a thousand dreams from around the world. Like the words of a book they each held a secret, and together they wrote a magnificent symphony._

_But the boy couldn't understand how being different was better. Not yet. Not when he lies curled on the floor his head splitting from the signals' consistent hum. Nothing is beautiful until you understand it._

* * *

><p><em>The boy's black hair looked like a pinprick in the white snow. The sky was cloudy, soft flakes of snow falling lazily onto the hardened ground. <em>

_He fell to the floor, leaning against an old oak tree, sheltered from view. Around him headstones telling a thousand tales. Here the signals couldn't reach him. The jeers, the taunts. The dead don't judge, they turn their heads as a young high schooler allows warm tears to fall down his cold cheeks. Peace. They turn away as he falls asleep under the watchful sky, the clouds keeping the sun from disturbing his sleep._

* * *

><p>"<em>TRASHCAN!" <em>

_The boy turns, his pale face void of expression, though inside fear shakes every molecule of his being. _

"_Surprise! Your mama isn't here! Only you trashcan could fall for that!"_

_Soft pale hands look down at the lined paper in his hands. He looks around him, trees as tall as the heavens solemnly watching the scene unfold. Around him red jackets stain the gray of the forest as they circle him. Jeers and laughter._

_The first blow came as no shock. He falls to his knees after the third. It prompts them, pushes them on. Cold wood hits him in head. Nausea overcomes him as colors dance across his vision. The blows continue, he turns on his back looking up at the snowy sky. Flakes fall on the red jackets as they step on his chest. Bottles of beer lie broken around him. They leave in a drunken stupor, their laughter sending birds flying into the stormy clouds._

_He lies broken on the snow. Soft flakes caress the bruises. He is beyond pain. He looks at the signals._

Please. Please help me.

_He raises a broken hand, the effort bringing more tears. Their salt stings the cuts on his cheeks. A deep red signal hangs above him. He beckons it closer. His hands move softly. He dials the number._

"_911 what's your emergency."_

"_He…Hel..p."_

* * *

><p><em>The bed is soft, it caresses his broken bones like a lover. The drugs keep the pain at bay. <em>

"_Mom."_

"_Gary! Should I bring the doctor?"_

"_I need to tell you something."_

"_Anything sweetheart."_

"_I need to tell you something. When I tell you, will you hold my hand?"_

_Soft lips caress his face and a warm hand slips into his bandaged palm._

"_Always, and forever."_


	14. Decisions

**Finished my math homework! *bowing to the applause*. I'm going to jump right into the story, hold on tight and here we go!**

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S DEAD!" Shouted Agent Sullivan, her voice pitched in anger. "THIS RUINS EVERYTHING! WE WERE SO CLOSE!"

"I know—"

"YOU KNOW! EXPLAIN YOURSELF!"

The blonde doctor wrung his hands nervously, his eyes turned to the floor.

"We were questioning it, and it looks like water slipped in the lungs and its body was too weak to bring it back out…"

Agent Sullivan fell heavily back into her chair, pulling her hair back with a sigh.

"Ok. No one must know. It's still alive for all we know. We continue with the plan. Understood?"

"Yes, Of Course."

"Then get out of my sight."

The lady's sharp eyes watched the doctor as he left the room. She put her head in her hands, breathing deeply. _Now what?_

Cameron knocked on the door. Skylar looked up, her hands busy with metal objects he couldn't describe.

"Hey…" He stopped before continuing, looking down at his feet.

"What is it Cam?" She asked, putting the objects down and crossing her arms.

"You're new to this group, and I am…sort of…so I wanted to ask. I mean you've dealt with the people who try to get alphas into Binghamton." He ran his hand through his hair. "I don't know. But I don't think some kid or a few couple of alphas can bust Gary out of there."

"So what you're saying is to ask Red Flag for help?"

Cameron shuddered at the blunt way she said it. Ever since Skylar had arrived she had done nothing but work. The rest of the team was still moving in slow motion, as though still trying to understand the events of the last couple of days. Especially Rachel. She was frozen in time, always in Gary's office as though blaming herself for his disappearance. But the new girl—Hazel—ever since she had come it was if Rachel had new life in her.

The team trained Hazel constantly, but it was difficult. They had yet to find a place where she could show them her strength. But for now she was resting, recuperating, and enjoying the sun again. In fact even now she, Rachel and Nina were out shopping. Bill and Doctor Rosen were gone to search for more alphas in numerous sanitariums but so far had come empty handed. Which was why now was the perfect time to ask Skylar a question none of the other alphas would even consider.

"So? What do you think?"

Skylar sat down and looked at her work. She was working on a device that could recognize alphas in a mile's distance. While it wasn't like Bob, it would have to do for now.

"I don't know Cam..."

"Come on Skylar! Don't kid around with me, just tell me straight up."

Skylar looked up, her brown eyes sad. "I've been asking myself the same thing. If we walk in now, we'll be massacred. I mean, the kid hardly knows how to use her own powers, Rachel couldn't use hers to hurt anyone and Dr. Rosen…well we know we can't bring Dr. Rosen in. We don't even have Gary to guide us through that hell hole. "

Cameron sat down next to her. "Dr. Rosen will never agree to working with the people who tried having him killed."

"We could always have Nina push him?"

The lean alpha turned to the woman to his left, searching her face for signs of sarcasm. Finding none he burst out laughing.

"That's not the way we do things around here."

"Well what can I say, you guys are too nice." Skylar stood up, stretching her long legs. "So? Are you going to tell them we plan to employ the aid of Red Flag or shall I?"


	15. Sing with the Rain

**Tonight it perfect. My school's been cancelled for tomorrow so it's almost midnight and my room is pitch black except for my computer screen. I can hear the thunder outside. Really, it's brilliant. Sorry, it's going to be short, but I just thought I would write a few words in adulation to the rain that's keeping me home. Enjoy!**

_Current Day_

_She leaned her head against the iron back of her bed. Soft comforters covered her lean legs, her hair wet from the shower. She yawned widely and stretched, her muscles still sore from the tennis lesson she had previously that evening._

_Getting up she walked towards the window and watched as the rain droplets slipped down the cool glass. Thunder shook the house and a small smile appeared on her lips. She returned to her bed and lay down with her novel. Sherlock Holmes was always a good read for nights as romantic as these._

_She raised her head as she heard footsteps out the door._

"_Darling, it's late. Get some sleep." Her mom peered in through the door, her eyes tired._

"_Yeah mom, one more chapter. You go to sleep. Good night." The young girl blew her mother a kiss._

"_All right then, good night. ONE more chapter." _

"_Of coerce!"_

_She watched as her mother closed the door to her room, and then rummaged in the drawer to her left. Pulling out one of the numerous notebooks that lay there, she pulled out a pen and put a hand to her temple, focusing as hard as she could on the black felt tip that lay there. Suddenly, the pen stood up with a magnificent flourish. _

_The 17 year old lay back and closed her eyes as the pen captured the rain out the window, captured the inky gray clouds, the lightening that lit up her room like fireworks. Nothing was better._

Hazel leaned out the window, her soft eyes staring wide eyed at the rain drops that fell down heavily from the stormy skies.

"The weather changed so fast…" She whispered in awe, looking up at Rachel who stood to her left.

"How long has it been since you've seen rain?" The older alpha asked.

"I…I can't remember."

The pair fell silent for a moment, both watching the crystalline droplets as they landed gracefully in front of their warm brown eyes.

Nina stood to the side, appraising the pair. She finally broke the silence.

"Come on you two. We have to catch a cab before they run out."

And with that the alpha ladies walked out into the rain.

Hazel looked up at the clouds and closed her eyes. The rain was cool on her face, the breeze cold yet comforting. She felt at that moment as though she could fly. Get lost up in those gray clouds, dance with the lightning and sing with the rain.

_I'm free. I'm finally free._


	16. Only Darkness

**I am so sorry! It's been so long since I've last updated! I've been busy but now I wrote you a chapter which is kind of long, not that long but I hope you enjoy it! I won't keep you for long my amazing readers. As always your reviews brighten my days! Bon appetite!**

**-theuntitled**

Dr. Rosen strode in, shaking the droplets of water from his gray hair. His face even more creased than usual as he surveyed the office. Schuyler and Cameron peeked into the hallway. _What am I doing? How can I allow them to risk their lives? What if we fail? What then?_

Nina, Hazel and Rachel are seated in the kitchen. Hazel is playing with a small flame, lost in thought. Nina and Rachel whisper quietly. Bill follows Doctor Rosen, his shoulders hunched, as though he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders.

The old doctor surveyed his team, the new and the old. The worry and rush of the past few days were evident on their faces. No one had slept, and if they closed their eyes it was so that tears of exhaustion wouldn't spill, identifying their breaking hearts.

Gary was gone. They didn't know if he was dead or alive. They knew he was hurting somewhere. They knew he was waiting for them. But how could they proceed while fear gripped them tight, holding them close. How could they pick up the courage to walk into a facility that only ever appeared in their nightmares? How could they possibly think of losing one other?

"Dr. Rosen, Bill, we need to tell you something." Cameron said hesitantly.

"Yes?" The doctor shook himself out of his thoughts.

"We should probably all sit down." Nina said hurriedly. Cameron and Skylar had already told them what they had decided, and after persuasion they had agreed. But they all knew they couldn't do anything without their leader's support.

The team walked into the meeting room, apprehension thick in the room.

"You want to employ the use of red flag." Dr. Rosen said quietly when they were all seated. It wasn't a question, and was said with no feeling.

"How did you know?" Cameron asked, the alphas looking at each other in surprise, as though waiting for someone to step forward and say they has already spoken to the doctor. None came forth.

"I'm your psychiatrist as well as your friend. I knew it was only a matter of time before one of you brought it up."

"So what do you think?" asked Rachel, the fear in her voice undisguisable.

"I don't know Rachel. I don't trust them. I never will. But we may have no choice. I won't risk your lives for my pride."

"Bill?" Nina turned to the dark skinned agent who sat quietly, staring at his hands. "What do you think?"

"I'm with Dr. Rosen. I don't support Red Flag but if we go in now, it'll be suicide."

The team fell into silence, agreement unspoken between them.

"Well that was easier than I expected." Skylar said, standing up. "So how do we ask them?"

"I have Griffin's card." Bill looked down at his hands, trying not to see the surprise on his friends' faces.

"What?" Rachel's eyes wide with surprise.

"I talked to her. She asked me if I wanted to work like her. I declined but she left me her number. I kept it, just in case."

"She STABBED ME!" Cameron's eyes were narrow, his voice laced with betrayal.

"She was doing her job. I don't like this anymore than you do, but Gary needs us. Like Doc said, we have to forget our pride."

At the mention of Gary the room fell back into silence. Hazel looked around the room. She never knew Gary, but she could tell that he was more than important to the people she had recently placed her trust in.

"So this Griffin…what did she do?" the youngest alpha shattered the quiet in the room.

"Griffin is a free lance Alpha, she can become invisible. We had a run in with her once. She stabbed Cameron and kidnapped Rachel. She can manipulate your blind spot, or basically she can become invisible."

"Do you think she'll help us?"

"No. Not her. But I hope with some cash she'll give us the numbers of a Red Flag leader." Dr. Rosen leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. _What are we doing? What if they turn on us?_ But he didn't let his apprehension show. He couldn't. "Bill. Call Griffin and ask her if she can meet us here."

"Why can't she just give us the phone number over the phone?" Hazel asked.

"Because Sullivan will be watching our lines. We can't let her know what we are planning. Surprise is out greatest advantage." Dr. Rosen stood up and walked to the window. The clouds were only just beginning to let up, the sun peering down on the wet city, turning the last raindrops into rainbows. _Yes, Sullivan would never think us bold enough to ask the aid of Red Flag._

* * *

><p>The guard at the door straightened as he heard the ring of the bell. Binghamton's most dangerous were situated underground. No one ever visited, so the guard generally had little to do. He walked to the door and peered through, nearly dropping the coffee in his hand when he saw who was at the door. He returned the coffee and asked through the intercom.<p>

"Password."

"Lighthouse 4567378."

The young guard opened the door and stepped back, saluting.

Agent Sullivan straightened her jacket and turned to the man to her left.

"I need to see Dr. Craidlin immediately."

"Of course Ma'am." The guard quickly pulled out his radio and muttered a few words.

"He's on his way. Would you like to take a seat Ma'am?" He said, gesturing to the simple seats in the brilliant white hallway.

Without giving a response she sat down on one of the black leather chairs. It took 10 minutes for the Doctor to arrive, his blonde hair almost white under the fluorescent lights. His forehead covered with pale sheen of sweat.

"Agent Sullivan, I wasn't expecting you." He came forward and shook her hand.

"Any luck reviving the subject?"

"Not yet Ma'am."

"Show me to it."

With that Agent Sullivan and the doctor walked into the depths of Binghamton, 10 armed guards following in their wake.

Down gleaming white hallways filled with doctors adorned with gleaming white coats. Every so often they would see a patient dragged down a corridor. Face bloodied, feet blue from the cold. Every so often they would see nurses pushing white carts, where sheets covered the body of a dead alpha. The team walked down hallways, past cells where eyes looked at them through slits. Eyes that were broken, eyes that were void of feeling.

Screams. Screams everywhere. Screams in every corner. Cries of pain that couldn't belong to someone of a human nature. The team never blinked. The cries didn't belong to humans thus didn't deserve their sympathies. Not a smile was found in this facility. Even the mad knew better than to smile. To smile is to have lost your mind so completely that you would be no longer worth the title subject. To smile is to greet the reaper.

Here in these hallways you can feel death. He whispers in your ears as you walk. He follows in your wake, your every step a gift for he can come. He comes in the form of a glistening needle. He comes in the form of a glittering knife. Here death is a friend. When you see him your face splits into a soft and you greet him graciously. He'll embrace you with arms warmer than where you are now. Here death is a friend. Here life is hell. Here hell is better.

The Doctor opens a door and the group of visitors walks inside. The room is barren but for an iron table where a sheet covers what lays on it. Agent Sullivan shivers despite herself. It's so cold. Their breaths make soft clouds which swirl about them like smoke. As the lady approaches the Doctor uncovers the subject.

He is pale. His build small. Someone out in the world loves him. Someone out in the world waits for him to return home. Someone out in the world will never know what happened to him. His light brown hair is buzzed short to his head.

"Subject 3324. We've had him for three years. He died two days ago."

Agent Sullivan sighed. "We needed his ability. Is there any way we can salvage it?"

"No. But we are working on it. We may be able to clone his DNA and grow it in an embryo."

" Ok. Keep working. I also came to see Subject 09872."

"Of course."

"How is the interrogation going?"

"Two days ago it collapsed while we were interrogating it. We are waiting for it to regain its strength before we resume."

"Let me see it."

Doctor Craidlin nodded and re-covered the dead alpha. He gestured to the door and the visitors left. He led them down another series of hellish hallways to a row of cells.

Agent Sullivan crossed her arms, self conscious from the eyes that gazed at her as the doctor opened the cell and walked in. The guards waited outside, eyes locked ahead.

He lay crumpled on the ground. His gray bottoms were ripped and adorned with scarlet. His bare torso was purple and black with bruising. He was so thin Agent Sullivan could count his ribs. A small blossom of pity touched her at the sight of him. A small blossom of pity on how much he had changed in the few days he had been here. She quickly dismissed it, reminding herself why.

"Let me speak to it." She ordered the blonde doctor. He gestured for the two guards with him to wake it from its slumber.

* * *

><p><em>He was in a meadow. Soft grass cradled him. He was wearing his favorite blue shirt. The sun was warm. A tall man and a dark skinned man were tossing a baseball. A woman with dark hair and a graying old man sat down laughing at them. He turns his head. A woman with coffee colored skin is finding shapes in the fluffy clouds above them. She points to a rabbit with a pink white tail to their left. A heart passing lazily above them. The signals are so beautiful. They swirl above him lazily. The air is so sweet and the bells of laughter frequent. A woman with short blonde hair approaches them. Cookies. He reaches for one.<em>

_Rough hands grab his from his dreams. They hurt his shoulders. He returns to the cold. He returns to the pain. His breath is short. He opens his eyes at a kick in the stomach. They pull at his hair so he looks up. A blonde man. A woman he knows but no longer can name. _

"_Who are some Red Flag operatives that your team has met?" _

_Her voice is soft to his ears. The world is hazy. He closes his eyes searching for the meadow. An electric shock forces his blue eyes to open. A droplet of water falls down his cheek. Cracked lips open but no sound comes out. Another shock. No sound. The woman shrugs and walks out, the blonde doctor after her. The rough hands let go. He hits his head on the cold floor. Too weak to reach the small cot. He closes his eyes._

_The meadow is gone now only darkness. The hope is gone now only darkness. _


	17. And Make Our Faces Vizards to our Hearts

**Good Evening Everyone! I'd like to start off the chapter with a rec. ****From Where You Are**** isn't an Alpha fanfic , it is a Glee and Hunger Games cross over. So if you dabble in those areas check it out, the writer aslytherinindistrict12 is a close friend of mine To Teyerin I am so sorry I haven't gotten to reply, I just like to be able to sit down and review seriously and I haven't the time for that at the moment, I'll respond as soon as my schedule opens! Thank you for your patience. And everyone give a round of applause to our newest member C.H.W.13! Thank you for your lovely review, alpha submissions are still open for newbies **

**Enough Pleasantries and let's get to business. Thank you to Ultrablonde for her honest review, it's great because I went back and reread and I've figured your right, the story is slowing down which is definitely something I don't want. So I am very sorry if the story has become dry and I'll be sure to fix that. Please review! As you can see reviewing helps make the story BETTER. You have to tell me what you want; this is as much MY story as it is YOURS. Thank you and enjoy!**

"Are you sure about this?" Bill whispered in Dr. Rosen's ear as they approached a seemingly average suburban dwelling. "If we do this, there's no pulling out."

"I know Bill. We have no other choice. Skylar's machine is well under way but it will only help us locate a few alphas. We need their help."

Bill mumbled something under his breath then straightened his suit. Determined not to show his apprehension at the daunting task before them. Dr. Rosen led the group who consisted of Bill, Nina and Cameron. Rachel had opted to stay at the office with Hazel to help her train her abilities. Skylar was still busy at work on her machine, a machine she would let none see.

Meeting with Griffin was unbelievably simple, it seemed that the word had passed around that one of the government's lapdog alphas had been kidnapped and his team mates were out for revenge. In fact, Griffin had told them, the Red Flag branch that she was directing them to was already expecting a visit.

The blonde alpha had appeared late in the evening, only Rachel's enhanced sense of hearing identifying her as she entered the building unnoticed. After a few hostile words the two parties had settled and for 200 dollars Griffin produced the number of a Red Flag operative's home not 10 miles from the office. It is at this home, 634 Westchire Street where we return to our anxious heroes as they shift nervously in front of a light wooden door at 2 o'clock noon time.

Dr. Rosen turned back to his team and giving them a reassuring smile, leaned forward and rung the doorbell. Silence.

After what seemed like an eternity the door opened and an elderly lady with white hair peeped out. Upon seeing them her face erupted into a bright smile.

Just as the team began to relax a voice, the equivalent of nails scratching on chalkboard, sliced through their minds.

_Are you unarmed…_

Through the pain Dr. Rosen nodded at the statement.

_Come inside. If you so much as lift a finger or trigger your ability, you'll be dead before you can bid your lovers goodbye…_

Still smiling the hag beckoned them in, her presence still glaringly painful in their heads. The alpha team walked through the doorway in a dazed state. Desperate to not show the pain they were in. Desperate to gain their enemies trust.

It seemed as though the Old Alpha was guiding them through the house, for if Cameron were to recall how they entered a large barren room lined in concrete with nothing more than a large crimson chair he would have drawn a blank. But that is where they found themselves.

The grip on their mind loosened and it felt as though the air had returned to their longs. Unwillingly, the team fell to their knees, breathing heavily. When they built the courage to look up they found they were surrounded by 20 or so alphas of all shapes and sizes.

A girl with hot pink hair blowing bright pink bubblegum.

A middle aged man with army cut hair.

A beautiful woman with long aqua blue fingernails.

A tall teenager with braided light brown hair.

The room was cold, and the worn gray floors hard against their knees. When Cameron made the motion to stand he felt a cold vice like grip around him, as though being strangled by a snake.

_Don't move, stay on your knees._

The entrance brought tears to their eyes.

Dr. Rosen looked towards the crimson chair. It turned slowly.

A Tall athletic middle aged man sat inside the crimson chair. He looked Native American; long braided locks reaching the middle of his back. He wore black from head to foot and his boots had silver spurs adorning them. A worn cane was leaned against his seat.

Yet those attributes remained unnoticed by the Alpha team kneeling on the floor, for the man ahead of them had eyes of an almost white coloring.

The man seated in front of them was blind.

**Sorry about the shortness, it was all I could manage. I'll be sure to write more when my schedule opens, Thank you all so much for your loyalty despite my short chapters!**


	18. Decisions Made, Tears Spilt

**Hello Everyone! I am officially off school! Exams are done and I am so happy to be back and writing again! Cross your fingers that I did well (especially in Algebra, ugh). Again I have to apologize for the wait I force you guys to go through but now I have 2 weeks where I will do nothing but try to post a little something every day! Well, you have waited long enough so here we go!**

**-theuntitled**

"Dr. Lee Rosen. I was wondering when I would be seeing you." The man's voice was a rich timber, his body heavy as it sat against the seat.

The old doctor looked up through the pain, stunned at the heavy set blind man above him. The Man's eyes were a near white, with a pale pink barely shining through. Upon looking at them Dr. Rosen recoiled, this blindness, it wasn't natural.

"I see you have noticed the state of my vision. Such a sorry thing to use. I was 14 when it happened. My ability is a small one. Or should I say _was _a small one. I could read a person so easily. Notice characteristics that others didn't. But of course, I can't do that without my eyes. I told my dad about this and he poured bleach into them. To be sure that my eyes don't see what the natural person should not. So in that one moment of pain I lost both my ability and my vision. Goes to prove that you don't learn to value something until you lose it. Which brings us to the reason you finally decided to meet me, you've lost something of your own. Nana, you can let go of them now, there's nowhere to run."

* * *

><p>Rachel spread the peanut butter over the soft white bread. The office was quiet without the other Alphas, and every minute that passed made the young alpha even more nervous for their safety.<p>

"Ouch! Son of a—"

"Hazel, language!" Rachel shouted over the young girl's swearing. She smiled softly to herself. The girl reminded Rachel of herself when she was young…except maybe a bit more fiery. The afore mentioned walked through the room, thumb in her hand.

"How is it that I can get out unaffected in the face of the fireball, but can be still mortally wounded by a bloody paper?"

Rachel laughed. "Another paper cut? 5 in one day, that has to be a record."

"Now I know why the doctors didn't send in paper into the room. They were actually worried about my safety…"

Hazel's tone didn't have a trace of sarcasm as she looked thoughtfully at her thumb. Rachel bit her lip against another laugh.

"So what? Your arch-nemesis is going to be an Alpha who can give people paper cuts?"

"Yes!" Said the young girl, head bobbing up and down at the proposal. "It would make a better Nemesis then Sherlock and Moriarty! Harry and Voldemort! Perry and Dr. Duf-"

Her speech was cut off by the ding of the elevator.

Rachel looked down at the golden watch on her hand. _They can't be back so soon…_

* * *

><p>Cameron stood up slowly, eyes turned warily at the evil cute grandmother to his left. He was rewarded with a sinister smile, but no pain this time.<p>

"You're right Mr…" Dr. Rosen said, waiting for a name from the formidable man on the chair.

"McGee. Thomas McGee."

"The government took our youngest Alpha member, Gary Bell. He has autism…"

The man laughed, but his laugh lacked the warmth associated with the word. It was bitter and cold like the first frost of winter.

"What? Afraid that your boy will get tests done on him? That they'll hurt him? Well Dr. Rosen, if you knew alphas were being slaughtered in Binghamton then why were you helping the people who created it?"

The room was silent. It was the beautiful Nina Theroux who broke the silence.

"We didn't know it was that bad. We thought that we were helping the alphas. It was only until recently that we discovered that things were going on in there..."

"Yeah." Added Cameron, his voice fierce but laced with pain. "Don't you think we've suffered enough? Every moment that we waste here is another moment that brings Gary closer to death. So don't be coy. Don't play games. You're either in or out."

His words brought another smile to the face of the Red Flag head. "I like this one. Straight to the point."

Dr. Rosen looked around at the alphas around him. Their faces were passive, neither revealing nor expressing a hint about what they were thinking.

"So… Will you help us? " Bill asked, hands clenched.

"It's not my decision to make." Mr. McGee answered and then lifted his head and called out into the room. "Free Alphas. The decision is yours. Will you join these…alphas…on their journey to help their friend?"

The room was quiet. The team looked around, desperation nearly showing in their tired eyes. A young man suddenly walked through the crowd. His skin was a deep tan, his hair a chestnut, near red color that fell in layers to his ears. His eyes were a stunning deep blue, like the ocean in a stormy night they swirled and coiled.

"Say we did help you. We free all the alphas inside, correct?" He has a slight accent, almost a tilt that Dr. Rosen and his team couldn't put their finger on.

"If we have enough Alphas then we will free as many captives as we can." Dr. Rosen answered. Nina bit her lip; this wasn't what they had originally planned. But she understood where the doctor was coming from; they needed all the help they could get to pull anything off.

The young man nodded his head thoughtfully then stepped forward, putting out his hand, welcoming Dr. Rosen to shake it.

"The name's Christopher Odair. I'll join you. God knows nothing fun has been happening here for a while and breaking into an impregnable laboratory, nothing can top than when you're looking for a rush."

* * *

><p>Rachel stiffened. She nodded to Hazel who dived into the air shaft to the side, closing the vented window behind her. There was a shaft like that in every room, just in case there was ever a need to disappear in an instant.<p>

Footsteps marched on the soft carpet, not bothering to disguise their presence. Rachel cocked her head to one side and listened. Five men -all armed- and one woman in high heels. It didn't take Rachel's superb sense of smell to realize who it was.

Agent Sullivan turned the corner and walked into the kitchen. She appraised the frozen Alpha in front of her.

"Well hello there. Just stopped by to chat. It's Rachel, isn't it?"

* * *

><p>"Well? Anyone else?" Called out the Alpha head, sickly eyes looking unseeing out to the audience he knew was standing around him.<p>

"If we go in then, we won't just be saving their friend, right? We'll destroy Binghamton." A girl with blue green eyes called out, her words inspiring mutters among the other Red Flag members.

The Alpha team looked at each other. Destroying Binghamton? But before they had the chance to say something McGee spoke up.

"If we plan to destroy Binghamton then it is no longer just about us. I'll call some other Alpha heads. Until then, "he turned to the tan young man and the tall girl with light brown hair and blue green eyes, "Odair, Tiana, you help this team." The Blind leader turned to Dr. Rosen. "When it comes to this attack, your team will hold point. You make the plans, you call the shots. Upon the hour of attack we will be your alpha power."

Thomas Mcgee stretched his hand to Dr. Rosen. After a moment's hesitation the Doctor walked up and shook it.

The Red Flag head smiled.

"So we have ourselves a deal."

* * *

><p>"So…Rachel. Where are the others? Dr. Rosen never told me he had found a new alpha…" Agent Sullivan undressed the kitchen with her eyes. Taking in the plate that housed a half made peanut butter sandwich, the coffee brewing quietly in the corner. The surfaces were immaculately clean, thanks to the synesthete who lived here.<p>

"We haven't found a new alpha." Rachel said hurriedly.

Agent Sullivan answered, her immaculate nails tracing as she walked around the kitchen, approaching the timid alpha slowly. "If they aren't with a new alpha, then where are they?" Her head cocked to the right when she asked the question, a smile playing on her deep red lips.

"They went out for lunch."

"Really? And why didn't you join them?"

"I've been feeling a bit tired lately." Rachel did her best to keep the hatred from her voice.

"Well feel better then." And suddenly Agent Sullivan was so close, her hot breath coming in waves on Rachel's ear. "Remember Mrs. Pirzad. Everything you do comes back to me. I'm the reason you're here, and I can change that with the signing of a single paper."

Rachel did her best not to move, not to shudder at lady's words. Just as she seemed to pull back, she leaned in closer and whispered in Rachel's ear, her words slicing into her heart.

"I saw Mr. Bell yesterday. We had a lovely little talk. But I guess I was doing most of the talking. Electro shock, I heard some of its side effects were the loss of the ability to communicate. But then it was probably easy to lose, him being so disabled."

Agent Sullivan pulled back, her face split into a wide smile. Teeth a pearly white.

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to call. Please tell Lee I stopped by, I'm absolutely _dying _to see him. "

And with that she left the room with her silent guards, leaving Rachel with nothing but a single tear rolling down her copper cheeks …

* * *

><p><em>A sharp pain tore him again from the darkness. Rough leather bindings held him spread eagled on a cold silver table. A bright light blinded him. His bare skin hurt where it had rubbed against the smooth aluminum surface. Another jolt. His back arched in pain. Breaths came in gasps and coughs. Words unspoken on chapped lips. <em>

"_We've been at this all day Mr. Bell. I'm tired, just answer the question." The voice was silky sweet, like cold satin. Another jolt. This time a scream sliced the cold air._

"_Now we're GETTING SOMEWHERE!" A laugh and another jolt. Another scream wrenched from an unwilling donor._

_Hot breath on his ear. "Tell me. Gary. Would you like to see your mother again? Your friends? Tell me where the Alpha heads are stationed and I'll let you see them. Give me one location. Just one."_

_The hot breath smelled like pepper mint. Eyes closed, a salty tear dripped from the corner of a blue eye. Chapped lips opened._

_A figure leaned over him, ear close to his mouth._

"_They are…they are…better than you." For the first time a flicker of rebellion graced those light blue eyes as they opened. Pale lips curled into a smile. "How I have longed to hear you say that."_

_The wand, lightning bolts flitting through both ends was placed just above a pale chest. So close that every breath brought delicate skin closer to its painful jaws. _

_The smile curled more. The hand lowered._

_Outside the room patients in their cells covered their ears against the screams._

__**PS: Don't think I've forgotten about the reviews! I still want them, I NEED THEM! And you out there, the ones who never review. I can see you. Yeah, look up at the camera on your laptop. That's my all seeing eye. It's hypnotizing you. You wan't to click the button below this message. You have to click the button below this message. That's it. Now write something in the pretty box. I don't care if it's anonymous. Just write something. That's it. I release you from my spell.**


	19. Tiana

**Good Morning everyone. It is a lovely day outside, the sun is shining and there is a cool breeze. Writing to you with a very colorful mug of hot chocolate in my hand, *sip*. Ama Sohma Bell, I am so touched that you think of me one of your favorite authors, reading that just made my day a whole lot brighter. Everyone, please give a standing ovation to Spotted Pool, this is her alpha and I hope I do her justice!**

**PS: I have yet another recommendation. This one is for an Alpha story called The Forgotten Memories by our very own C.H.W.13, who is one of our new constant reviewers *cough*so she must have good taste*cough*so her story must be good*cough**cough*. Wow! What a coughing attack, I will go find a cough drop while the rest of you read! Enjoy!**

_ Take in your mind's eye a young girl. You think she's maybe five or six. Close your eyes. The smell of flowers is strong and there is a cool breeze brushing hair from the nape of your neck. You're standing on bright green grass. The sun is shining, not to strong. It's spring time. Open your eyes. The young girl is sitting on a swing. Her light brown hair is loose and is blowing back and forth as she swings on the play set. _

_For a moment she looks like a normal girl playing on a swing. Then you look closer and you see the impossible._

_She sits on the swing, and it moves back and forth, however she isn't moving her legs. No, it looks like there is someone pushing her on the swing but there's nobody there. You approach her, quiet so as not to disturb her play. As you walk the wind grows stronger. Your confusion grows. Then you're so close to her, and you think, even though it's impossible, that the wind is pushing her on the swing! But how could that be? It's impossible._

_As you ponder this strange discovery she looks your way. Her eyes are an amazing green blue that you've never seen before. She smiles sweetly. Then, while she is up in the air she jumps. You stifle a scream._ She'll hurt herself! _You think, but before you have time to act she lands on the ground, as light as a feather._

_She walks over to you shakes your hand, not noticing the look of surprise on your face._

"_Hello." She says in a light voice. "My name is Tiana. What's your name?"_

_It has been 4 years. She's nine now. When she was five, she looked like a normal girl with an extraordinary ability. But that is not the case. Her history is both sad and surprising if you'd care to learn it. _

_Tiana doesn't have a last name because she was never given one. She never knew her parents. In fact, the orphanage masters don't even know if nine is her real age. She was dropped on the steps of an orphanage when she was still a baby, not even one year of age. So the orphanage masters took her in and proclaimed that the day she came to that orphanage would be her birthday. Tiana grows up in the orphanage and the place is nothing but dismal and depressing. _

_The wooden floors creak even when you're sitting. The children don't have their own room; instead they all live together in two large rooms that fit forty beds. One for girls, one for boys. Every day eager parents will walk down the immaculate rooms and shop for the cutest child. The child that is smiling. The child that will fit in the best with their family._

_It's not that Tiana is unsocial, or that she is not a fair creature. Tiana is different. Her hair always seems to be moving, as though there is always a breeze around her. Something unsettleling always lurking in those blue-green eyes. Something different. Something that kept people from adopting her. Something that kept her from a home. _

_She's nine. Young but headstrong. Lonely, but that suits her just fine. Her bed is next to the window. One night she sits and looks out at the moon. It is full tonight; she always stays up when it's a full moon. Soft breathing and the occasional sounds from the other sleeping girls are the only sounds that break the silence. She leans back and dreams of freedom. Of telling everyone her secret. Of telling everyone about how air is her friend. How she can tell it what to do. Dreams of people accepting her._

_The floor boards creak and before she can react a warm hand covers her mouth. _

"_I know what you are. You're a freak." It's a man with a low voice. He whispers in her ear, his breath hot._

_Suddenly she feels something cold against her neck. A knife. _

_He's going to kill her. But she won't let him. The air suddenly comes to her aid, knocking him from him, throwing the man across the room. The girls wake up and the quiet is broken with shrill screams as blood stains the old wooden boards. _

_Tiana looks at the window and bids the wind to break it. Then she jumps, feeling nothing but the cool air as she falls. She lands lightly, unaffected by the height. Taking one look back at the place where she grew up, she pulls the thin dress closer to her body and runs. The wind carries her, keeping her in the air longer than humanly possible. She is gliding. She is free._

_She is ten. She has spent the last year exploring, honing her abilities. Tiana has matured faster than the normal child. But then again she is not exactly a normal child. _

_She is sitting in the woods, listening to the birds. Tiana sits on the tallest branches of a pine tree, breathing softly so as not to disturb the peace of nature. A voice shocks her into rustling, sending birds flying from around her._

"_Hello sweet heart, will you come down from there?"_

_It's a woman, mid-forties with a kind face. Tiana jumps down, landing with a small breeze. The woman surprises her, instead of shrieking she smiles. _

"_You are a very special girl, aren't you my dear." _

_The woman takes her to her home where Tiana has her first batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies. By the age of 15 the young alpha has joined the ranks of Red Flag._

_Tiana is 18 now. She opted not to take a last name. She is merely Tiana, the right hand of Thomas McGee. Strong, independent and reckless. Can you remember the young girl on the swing? Have you seen how her life has changed? How she was forced to grow up because of prejudice. Forced to grow up because of ignorance. _

_Remember the five year old with the loose brown hair. Remember the eighteen year old with the messy braid. Try to remember that they are the same person. Remember._

***Cough*review*cough***


	20. Training Montage

**Two chapters posted in nearly an hour, "bows down to the applause*. This chapter mentions Christopher Odair, which is aslytherinindistrict12's character, so a pat on the back for her. For those of you who are waiting for your alpha to be put in I thank you for your patience. Binghamton alphas will be mentioned later on and in the coming chapters we will be tying up alphas who will be working with the team. Thank you all so much for your support, as always your reviews are amazing!**

"They are going to kill him! We have to go now!" Sobbed Rachel, her breath coming out in short gasps.

"Rachel honey…"Dr. Rosen reached over and tried to pat her on the back but she recoiled from his touch.

"SHE CAME HERE!"she shouted. "SHE SAID HE COULDN'T TALK! THEY ARE TORTURING HIM AND WHAT ARE WE DOING? NOTHING…nothing." She sank back down in the chair and buried her head in her hands, sobbing quietly.

Tears fell in streams down Nina's face. Bill stood in the corner, head down and hands clenched. The new additions to the group, Tiana, Christopher and Hazel were standing at the door of the room, unsure how to react. Skylar was still locked away in her office, not answering or opening the door to anyone.

Cameron hit the wall. "Come on Doc. We have to go!"

"Going now would be suicide." Bill answered, voice hoarse. "We wouldn't stand a chance."

"What does it matter?" Cameron taunted. "By the time we pluck up the courage Gary will be sent in pieces to us in a cardboard box-"

"That's enough!" Dr. Rosen said sharply.

"I agree with Dr. Rosen. This is what she wants, us turning against each other." Nina sat next to Rachel and stroked her hair. She wrapped her arms around the other girl and they held each other there, trying to share the little comfort they had left.

"Wait just a little." It was Tiana who spoke, her voice was light and soothing. "Your girl is working on something in there, something that will help us find more alphas. Find some more and we can end this."

Dr. Rosen nodded. He turned to the new comers. "I'm sorry, we haven't introduced you to the rest of them team." And it was true, the group of Alphas had returned from the Red Flag base only to find Rachel hysterical.

"I'm Christopher Odair." The curly haired alpha with tanned skin walked over and shook the hands of the alpha team. He stopped at Rachel and gave her a sympathetic smile before continuing. "I can hold my breath for long periods of time and I'm stronger than the average human. I'm 20 now, I joined Red Flag when I was 16."

"Tiana." The tall brown haired teen said simply. " I can control air."

The Alpha team muttered their greetings then introduced themselves. When they were done the two teams stood there, awkward and unsure how to proceed.

"I know we have our differences." Christopher said quietly. "We've all lost people. I lost my family when government officials burned our house down. My girlfriend is in Binghamton now, has been for 4 years. It was the reason I joined Red Flag. We really aren't as blood thirsty as you think we are. We can't let our differences get in the way of what we're doing."

Cameron sighed softly. "Well I am going to go ice this." He said, looking down at his bruising hand. "I really should stop punching walls…"

This filled the room with laughter, both Red Flag and Government Alphas laughing together. Dr. Rosen smiled. _This might just work._

The next three days were a series of showing off each other's abilities and getting to know one another. Christopher melded in perfectly, his arrogant personality the source of laughter and mock fights. Tiana kept to herself, always there, a smile playing on her lips. To hone their abilities they started practicing on the roof tops of the buildings. They once had a race and it was obvious that Tiana was going to win. She jumped effortlessly from roof to roof, no matter the distance. Not only that but she and Hazel discovered something they could do with their powers.

It started when Christopher was curious about Hazel's power. They were sitting on the roof when he shouted over the youngest Alpha on the team.

"Toss me a fireball!" He shouted.

"NO!" She said, shocked. "Are you an idiot? I'll kill you!"

"Come on sweet heart, I just want to see how it looks!"

Hazel swore under her breath and looked at Cameron, who smiled. "If he wants it, give it to him."

With that Hazel took a deep breath, focusing on the smiling twenty year old. _Here goes nothing. _And with that thought she threw her arm as though tossing a baseball, except a ball of flame leapt from her arm, growing larger as it covered the distance. Christopher ducked with a laugh but instead of disappearing the ball of flame hung there, right above his head. Cameron turned to Hazel.

"Are you doing that?"

"NO!" She looked at her hands in confusion. They heard a crisp laugh.

Tiana was standing a few feet away and it took a moment for them to realize that she was incasing the fireball in air. Everyone burst into applause.

Since that day the two ladies could be found tossing fireballs to each other. Tiana was already well advanced in understanding and using her ability, but her patience helped Hazel control her explosive power.

It had been three days when one afternoon, while everyone was seated having lunch Skylar burst into the room.

"I did it! I finally did it!"

Her hair was a mess of ash and tangles. Grease covered her tattooed arms. The new alphas looked at Skylar in confusion.

"Ugh, guys. This is Skylar Adams. Her ability is to create things from nothing." Nina said, patting her old friend on the shoulder.

"Christopher."

"Tiana."

"Umm, yeah, hi." She said, and then turned to Dr. Rosen. "I did it, it's weak but I did it."

The Alphas rushed into Skylar's workspace, taking a moment to take in the pieces of metal and wire that covered every available surface. In the middle however was a table. A screen was propped up in the middle of it. It looked like a very thick tablet. Skylar held it up proudly.

"This is Thomson everyone!"

Christopher leaned over and whispered in Tiana's ear. "She _named _it?" Tiana shushed him and turned back to the eccentric alpha.

"Ugh…well how does it work?" Asked Bill apprehensively.

"Thomson." She corrected. "He, once I turn him on, can locate any alpha in a five mile radius, the stronger they are, the brighter they will be."

"Then what are you waiting for! Open it!" Cameron leaned in eagerly as everyone pressed forward to look at the screen.

Skylar whispered something to the screen. "It's activates only to the sound of my voice" she said when the others looked at her curiously.

Suddenly the screen opened with a bright white light. It displayed a black map, the roads and streets highlighted in white. But that wasn't what held their attention. Dotted around the map were small red dots, varying in color from a light pink to a deep crimson.

"I never knew there were so many of us." Cameron whispered as the alphas looked out on the screen with awe.

"There" Pointed Christopher to groups of dots, "Those are probably Red Flag outposts."

"So let's look for single dots." Hazel said, receiving nods of agreement. 3 spots stood out, each one a bright crimson.

"3 more alphas..." Bill left the room, and straightened his jacket. He looked at the quiet alphas in the darkened work space.

"Well? What are you waiting for?"


	21. Waiting,Comforting,Breaking,Questioning

The building was old and broken. It sent off the feeling of loneliness, an air of loss that left it ownerless. The garden was yellowed, the trees dead. Their branches reaching out like skeletal fingers longing for warmth. It was there that the uneasy found themselves, shifting from side to side, and hearts beating heavy in their chests.

Bill and Cameron nodded at each other and pulled out their guns, only to be stopped by a firm hand. Christopher looked up at them, meeting their surprised eyes.

"We are not here to capture them. Whoever is inside they are probably afraid and the last thing we want is for them to lash out. We are just here to talk."

The large dark skinned agent nodded, sweat glistening down his brow. Nina was stiff, Rachel at her side. Hazel had stayed with Dr. Rosen at the office; the group was still nervous bringing her along. They had grown fond and protective of the youngest alpha of the group.

Tiana was silent at the back, but a smile lit her face. The promise of danger revealing the madness within. She walked up to the large door while the others tried to calm their nerves and knocked loudly.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Cameron shouted, pulling her back. "You don't know who's in there!"

"And?" She raised an elegant eyebrow. "It's a dangerous alpha whose ability we don't know. But there is only one of them and six of us. I have confidence in my strength; do you have confidence in yours?"

Tiana pulled away from his grasp and knocked again, each thud on the door sending shivers down the on looker's spines. They waited, only the wind keeping them company. And foul company it made, for it whispered in their ear, setting fire to their fear. It was Bill who finally broke.

"I can't take this anymore." And with that he kicked down the door. Adrenaline surged through their veins, setting their bodies on fire, turning fear into strength.

The waiting was over. The fight for Gary began.

* * *

><p><em>A cool cloth rubbed across his flaming skin. A voice whispered softly to him. <em>You are going to be ok. You are going to be ok. You are going to be ok_…He looked up, blue eyes meeting hazel. Her hair was tangled and mess, pulled back in a messy bun. She wore a thin gray jumpsuit. Just like him. He can hardly see her, everything a blur in the pain._

Your awake_ a voice whispers through the darkness. So soft, so comforting, like the smooth petal of a lily across ones open palm. _Gary I need you to hold on. I need you to think of your friends. Describe them to me.

_He smiles, the movement painful. _Bill…he's tall. He is a bully but he is my partner. We are partners. We work good together._ A tinkling laugh, warm hands wrapping cloth around the brilliant red wound on his pale shoulder. _

There's Cameron. He stopped the buzzing. He likes Nina. Nina is pretty. She takes care of me_. A small silver tear falls down a cold cheek. He closes his eyes. _Rachel is pretty too. She gives my hummus. I was her date once. Her date to a party. She helped her dad. is my boss. I work for him_…a cough and silence._

_The pain eases. Their memories fill him with warmth. He wanted so much to see them again. _

Open your eyes Gary_. He opens them. She is beautiful. So delicate. Like a budding flower made from the coldest glass. _You're going to be ok. Go to sleep_._

What's your name_ he whispers through the fog of sleep._

Lily.

* * *

><p>"I've had enough of this!" She leapt up and paced the room. "I've done everything I can to draw them in! How long will it take?"<p>

"Ma'am, I'm sure they will come."

"Do I have to kill the boy?" She whispered. Agent Sullivan sighed softly and sat down. _What have I gotten myself into?_

She couldn't sleep, and feared closing her eyes, for in the darkness there was nothing to protect her from _him_. From _them_. Ever since she had seen him so small, so broken in that cell his image had haunted her. Never giving her a moment's peace. She had never seen them as human, but now as their screams rung in her ears she began to break. Her resolve turning to ash to be blown in the winds of the coming war.

_I never meant to hurt anyone. I'm just doing what's best for humanity._

* * *

><p>Dear reader, what is a villain? What is evil but another way of looking at things? Can you call the woman fighting back tears a villain? Or is the screaming boy lost in the depths of a white hell the villain?<p>

There is nothing wrong for fighting for what you believe in but before you do stop. Think. There will always be someone defying you, someone with a sense of duty as strong as yours. Who deserves to win?

The government who became monsters to protect their people?

Or the alphas who struggle day to day with something they never could control?

Who is the antagonist here? Who would you choose to kill?

**Hello everyone. Me again. Sorry for the late update, who knew watching marathons of turned you into a vegetable? Please Review! You know how much it means to me (you better know because of how much I pester you about it). 2 days until Sherlock! (Pretend like you know what that is). Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**-theuntitled**


	22. Suprise

**Good Afternoon. I greet again with a huge sorry with a sorry cherry on top. Mental cookies to anyone who is still reading this. School is starting tomorrow so I've been busy trying to catch up on work I should have been doing over break *bashful guilt*.Yes and sorry about the whole double upload thing, I just got it fixed. Again please review, sorry again for the late updates and thank you for just reading this. It means a lot. Buen Provecho.**

"All right." Christopher took a calming breath. He nodded at Bill and Cameron. The two looked each other in the eye, and as one, stepped quietly into the old house.

The doorway was simple, the house big. Upon entering all they could see was a Cinderella staircase, the red carpet so ratty that it was hardly recognizable. The house oozed of decay, cobwebs hung like clouds from every corner. Every breath seemed to shift the dust that had taken home on every molecule of air.

Bill waved Nina and Rachel in, Tiana following like a ghost.

"One heartbeat. Downstairs." Rachel whispered, hardy hearing herself over her racing heart.

Slowly, glued to the edges of the wall, the raiders shuffled to the direction of the basement door according to Rachel's brilliant hearing. As they made their way through the mansion, away from the light of the doorway, it became so dark. And almost without their knowledge they found themselves in total darkness.

The slamming of a door. Heavy footsteps.

The hair rose at the back of Nina's neck as she tried to make out anything through the blistering darkness.

"Dead ahead." Rachel muttered her voice hardly perceptible.

Nina heard someone shuffle in front of her, shielding her from whatever may come. Cameron.

Then the world fell into chaos.

A strange liquid filled the air, illuminating the scene for an instant.

Bill, one hand outstretched protecting himself from the blinding light and another shielding Rachel. Cameron and Nina with looks of surprise, Christopher and Tiana bent prepared to strike. A young girl with copper skin and long black hair edged with crimson, eyes like molten amber blowing into her palm, releasing what must be the fiery liquid into the room for a mere second.

"So you've come for me."

The world was suddenly a shrill scream and Nina's hair blew as a gust of wind surged past her. Soft footsteps ran and a cry rang through the darkness. A laugh followed it, a laugh so cold that it froze the blood of the listeners.

"I have her." Tiana said, voice as cold as a winter morning.

They slowly made their way to the door, unsure about Tiana or the girl who had attacked them. When they finally made it into the light they turned back to see what had happened.

The tall alpha held an unconscious girl in her arms. Looking like she was in her early twenties, blood was dripped from her head as she lay limp in Tiana's arms.

"Don't worry, she's fine. Let's get her to the office and get the others." The red flag right hand slung the girl over her shoulder as if she weighed nothing and walked out into the light of the day.

When they all were in the van Bill turned around, worry in his eyes.

"Are you sure you want to get the other three now? Shouldn't we just leave them for another day?"

Christopher patted his shoulder reassuringly.

"Every minute we wait to do something, your friend is put in greater danger. We get the alphas then those who stay will stay, those who don't are free to go. The attack on Binghamton has to be soon, before your patrons realize something is off."

"I'm afraid they already know." A smooth female voice answered.

The alphas looked out the dirty windows of the van, their gaze met by 20 smooth barrels. 20 guns held by 20 men in black.

Agent Sullivan smiled.

"Surprise."


	23. Deadly Beauty

**Sadism is back. **

**WARNING: TORTURE, BLOOD, TEARS**

**Here's the chapter you all haven't been waiting for! :D**

_**Previously on Shattering Glass**_

_The alphas looked out the dirty windows of the van, their gaze met by 20 smooth barrels. 20 guns held by 20 men in black. _

_Agent Sullivan smiled._

"_Surprise."_

_**(play theme music and episode begins)**_

"You couldn't believe, or were you naïve enough to believe I wouldn't know what was going on." Agent Sullivan strode around the van, smiling at the persons within. "But I have to admit I'm…disappointed. I thought my message to Mrs. Pirzad would prompt action. Yet I have to admit I'm pleased with the outcome. Not only in my net do I find the alpha team, but with them 3 new alphas! And two of them prominent members of Red Flag!"

Christopher tightened and clenched his jaw. Noticing his subtle movements Agent Sullivan smiled even broader.

"Yes Mr. Christopher Odair, I know who you are. We have been looking for you for quite some time, ever since that incident in Florida."

Those blue eyes blazed like flames as he hissed. "Don't…"

But she ignored him. "Who was it? Yes Mrs. Santa Maria Arrocha. We were disappointed that the raid on your home didn't produce the alpha we were looking for, but we were pleasantly surprised that your girl friend was an alpha as well. That way our trip didn't prove to be fruitless. I saw her only a couple days ago, not sure if you still want to date her now…"

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!" Christopher roared, only Bill's hand keeping him from leaping from the van.

"And you're not the only one. Tiana. Right hand of a Red Flag branch. I'll admit that I didn't expect you to be here. Ms. Theroux, do you know you're sitting next to a murderer? "

"Everyone calm down. She is doing this so that we will lose our tempers, then her men will attack." Tiana said eyes locked with Sullivan's, a casual smile growing on her lips.

" You haven't changed Sullivan. It's funny though, I thought you were too much of a coward to show up on a raid. No matter, I'll enjoy hearing you scream."

A flash of fear flashed across her features at the alpha's words, but that fear was soon replaced with features of rigid stone.

"I've played enough games with you. You can't be allowed to continue. You just can't."

And with that she backed up behind her men and said three words dripping with poison.

"Fire at will."

* * *

><p><em>He was strung up from the wrists, feet not touching the ground. He wore nothing but a worn pair of drawstring pants. Pale skin riddled with purple flowers. A hand hit him again in the face, blood spraying from his chapped lips.<em>

"_Tell me how long you've been working for Red Flag."_

"_I don't…work…for them…"_

_This time a blow into a stomach, knocking the breath from him. Breaking an already broken rib._

"_Liar."_

_The boy looks up. Black hair soaked through with his own sweat and blood. Once delicate features now reddened and broken._

"_I. Don't. Lie."_

"_I grow tired of this. Higher."_

_He closes his eyes, bracing himself for the pain that comes._

_A doctor in a brilliant white lab coat. Hands covered in blood, knuckles covered in leather to protect his unmarred hands from the blows he sends. Footsteps as they walk towards a wheel. Hands pull. A pulley eats the rope. A body is moved higher._

_The room is filled with a scream as his shoulders dislocate with a sharp crack._

"_This doesn't have to continue." A smooth voice slides into his ears. "We have been at this for days. Aren't you tired Gary? I know I am."_

"_You…won't…don't..." His breath is ragged. He moans in agony._

_Blood red lips curling into a deadly smile. Mouth moving close to his ear. Whispering. Hot air brushing against his blood stained face._

"_It's over Gary. Your friends tried to rescue you. Agent Sullivan is dealing with them now. Your friends are dead Gary."_

Your friends are dead Gary.

Your friends are dead.

_Echoes in his mind._

_Her laugh when he said a joke._

_A man stealing his lunch._

_A baseball that flies in every corner of the office._

_Kind eyes as he listens to every problem._

_Beautiful black hair and a red smile as she talks about shoes._

_Echoes._

_He screams in pain. A pain no words can describe. The pain of a heart ripping in two. The pain of a heart shattering like glass._

_It's over. They've won._

* * *

><p>The bullets hit them full force with the strength of a freight train. But Tiana holds a hand up, created a barrier of wind.<p>

Through the deafening sound of bullets shot from every caliber of gun Bill ordered his team, fear forgotten and training kicking in.

"The van is shot, I don't know what they did to it. We have to get out of here without any help. Tiana, how long can you keep them at bay!"

"NOT MUCH LONGER!" She shouted over the sound of the bullets, sweating dripping down her angular face.

"TIANA! ON THE COUNT OF THREE LOWER THE WALL AND DIRECT THE AIR AT THE ROOF! WHEN IT COMES OFF EVERYBODY JUMP! THEY WILL ONLY BE DISTRACTED FOR A FEW SECONDS! CHRISTOPHER, YOU'RE IN CHARGE OF THE GIRL! ON MY COUNT EVERYBODY DUCK AS LOW AS YOU CAN! "

Christopher gathered the girl in his arms.

"3!"

Rachel focused on her sight and blocked out the sounds of the bullets, for a moment forgetting herself in the beautiful arrows of metal that gleamed in the sun.

"2!"

Cameron kissed Nina lightly on the lips and held her hand tight, prepared to protect her with his life.

"1!"

Agent Sullivan smiled.

"NOW!"

Everyone ducked in unison and Tiana let the air flow through her and blow the top off the van. It ripped off with the screeching on metal, and the stream of fire stopped for a moment as the soldiers looked up at the sky, watching the piece of metal as it flew high into the air and came crashing down, taking with it a car.

By then the team leapt from the wreckage and ran down the street. Together they ran as fast as they could on the flawless pavement, passing perfectly clipped gardens and suburban homes. They were out of firing range when they realized something. The soldiers weren't following them.

And with good reason.

Around the bend 3 tanks rolled towards them. The size of the houses at their sides the tanks rolled in, their guns pointed at the insignificant persons standing in shock in the middle of the road. Bullets began to fire from the other end. They were trapped.

"EVERYONE OUT OF THE WAY!" Bill screamed and pushed Rachel from the middle of the road. Only inches from where they were the first missile from the tank exploded, leaving a crater where they had once stood.

Cameron lay paralyzed for a moment on the pavement, deafened by the sound of the explosion only inches from him. Everything moved in slow motion.

Nina struggling to her feet, blood streaming from her face.

Christopher with his shirt burnt half off, shielding the unconscious alpha with his body.

Tiana swaying on her feet, covered head to toe in black soot.

Smoke. Smoke and a single scream that pierced through the pain.

"RACHEL!"


	24. Scarlet Rose

**Helllooooooooo Readers! It is me yet again! Missed me?**

**I'm afraid this chapter really isn't a chapter, more like a teaser.**

**See, my friend gave me this idea, and I really didn't like it. However the sadistic part of me wants to try it just once. PROMISE ONLY ONCE!**

**I will update a full length 1000+ chapter if…the review count gets to 80**

**Is that possible?**

**Or am I just being too mean?**

**So here's a little teaser while you ponder my challenge (small maniacal smile creep on lips):**

Breathe in. Pain. Breathe out in wracking coughs. He manages to move his large body. Everything is agony. Agony and smoke.

"Rachel?"

Bill rolls over on his stomach, blinking to clear the soot from his eyes. He coughs again, his mouth feeling like it had never felt the coolness of water.

He sees a figure through the smoke. Only a little ways away.

Bullets ring in his ears.

The explosion echoes.

Bill starts to crawl to the figure, sleeves and skin ripping against the burning asphalt. Rocks litter every surface but he doesn't notice them.

He suddenly feels something soft and warm on his elbow.

The agent looks down.

Blood. The color of a scarlet rose growing crimson as the seconds pass. Soft. Like a deep velvet of a masquerade gown.

He looks up again through the shock.

His mind begins to process.

The gears, so shaken, begin to splutter to life.

Dark hair as she lays spread eagled on the rough black road. Blood curves around her, like a bed of rose petals.

Brown eyes, once so warm, wreathed in fear and pain. Brown eyes, once so filled with light, losing their glimmer.

The scream is wrenched out of him despite himself. It sounds in every corner of his being, like fire it burns him to crisp. It sounds in the streets, spread on the whispering tendrils of smoke that slowly clear to frame them in an eternal moment.

A dark skinned heavy set man. His black suit jacket is in tatters, his white button down dyed with red stains and black soot. Tears leave trails down his blackened face. Blood seeps from his ears and his nose, it falls down his brow and criss-crosses from the cuts on his back.

A dark skinned heavy set man cradling a body in his arms. His face buried in her tangled hair. His tattered arms hold her close to his heart. Her skin is blackened, her skirt torn. Burns tattoo her arms, reminders of the flames that danced there only seconds before. A silver tear shimmers slowly down her long rich lashes. A small blossom of blood seeping through her shirt. A small blossom that rapidly blooms into a garden of roses.

Small breaths.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Then silence.


	25. Ticking Clock

**Hey everyone. Yup, I am back. Sorry, so so so so so sorry. It was exam weeks so I had no time to really do anything. But I am back, and I hope to update more than ever. Thank you guys for all the support and welcome to our new readers! I'm glad you are enjoying this! The review box, as always, would love to be graced by your words. Thank you again for putting up with the late updates, I hope you don't hate me toooo much ;)**

**So, without further ado, chapter 25 of Shattering Glass.**

_A dark skinned heavy set man cradling a body in his arms. His face buried in her tangled hair. His tattered arms hold her close to his heart. Her skin is blackened, her skirt torn. Burns tattoo her arms, reminders of the flames that danced there only seconds before. A silver tear shimmers slowly down her long rich lashes. A small blossom of blood seeping through her shirt. A small blossom that rapidly blooms into a garden of roses._

_Small breaths._

_Inhale._

_Exhale._

_Inhale._

_Exhale._

_Then silence._

* * *

><p>He trembles softly, his large hands holding her tight. Tears fall freely down his ebony skin. Bill tears his eyes away from her still form and looks up, the fire failing in his eyes.<p>

The tanks approach. The men have stopped firing.

Silence.

A bated breath before the end.

A tank comes closer, its barrel still spewing smoke like a dragon. A dragon that's maimed his prey.

No escape.

_The clock is broken._

The barrel lowers until it is locked on the entwined figures on the broken black pavement.

Bill closes his eyes.

The blast rattles every bone in his body. Every molecule is jarred at the sound, as though a thousand trumpets had all sung in one moment in his ears.

But wait.

He opens his large eyes.

The missile hangs suspended in the air, inches from where he sits, cradling Rachel.

Silver, etched with lines and dates, so smooth. Like a marble chess piece frozen the moment before it claims its next victim. The sun shines off of it, and for a second, through the smoke and haze of pain, the beauty of it hanging there catches his heart. So beautiful. So elegant as it floats only inches from him, as though the smoke has embraced it and refuses to let it explode in a million flame covered shards.

Then it begins to move, it turns away from where Bill sits, mesmerized, and instead turns to face the steel creature that sent it on its quest.

The missile is released.

The tank blows up into the air, pieces of metal flying everywhere. Smoke billows from where it was hit, shrapnel from the missile glimmering like stars on a cloudy night.

Bill gasps as the wind picks up around him, encasing both he and Rachel in a sphere of roaring wind. A roaring wind that protects them as the world turns to fire and the screams of burning men.

_The hand of the clock moves._

A van screeches to a halt next to them, the door slamming open as the tires scream inches from where they sit. Hands pull him inside, his arms still tight around Rachel's body. The young alpha has woken, and supports Christopher as they run towards the van, metal flying around them.

Cameron holds Nina as they stumble, dazed, towards the vehicle, stopping only to help a fallen Tiana, arms still outstretched from the wind that saved Bill and Rachel's life.

And through all of this, two figures dance with the gray smoke, fire licking at their figures.

The young girl's hair billows in a fiery halo round her head, her pale fingers touching her forehead, eyes closed. Perfectly still.

The tank that approaches her flies up until it is vertical in front of her.

Emerald green eyes open.

The tank flies and hits the last of the steel monsters, the explosion shaking the ground beneath their feet.

A man with raven hair dances with the armed men, movements effortlessly fluid.

He is unarmed.

He dodges the bullets that fly his way, and when the men reach him to strike, he grips the offending barrels of the guns they wield.

At his touch the machines turn to dust.

"DRIVE!" He screams and begins to run towards the van. Dr. Rosen kicks it into gear and the flame haired girl flies nimbly aboard. The raven haired man jumps in just as the van screams against the broken asphalt and flies away.

"THEY ARE STILL COMING!" Skylar shouts, unevenly cropped hair billowing violently against the wind that blows in from the still open door of the van.

"Leave that to me." Hazel leaps towards the open door and closes her eyes, the raven haired man's arms tight around her waist to keep her from falling out of the moving vehicle.

Her arms clench and she screams, a stream of fire emerging from her mouth, engulfing their pursuers in tides of flame.

The explosions behind them nearly flip the van over, but Rosen manages to return it on its feet.

And without looking back they tear the pavement and disappear in wreaths of smoke.

_The hand of the clock ticks slowly._

* * *

><p>"Bill. Bill."<p>

The voice is so faint, as though he is underwater. Please, let me sleep…

"Bill. I need you to wake up."

It's so annoying, that voice. Annoying, yet so familiar…

"Agent Bill Harken wake up!"

This time a shrill female voice. He slowly opens his eyes. The world is so fuzzy, as though a painter had gone and blurred all the colors in a damaged watercolor painting.

The lights hurt his eyes, and there is a shrill high pitched noise in his ear.

"There we go. Come on, open your eyes again."

The voices come from a million miles away. He opens his eyes again and as he blinks, the blur fades and suddenly everything is in sharp detail.

"Where…where am i-i…?

His words are slurred as he looks up to a concerned Cameron and Nina, their two heads bent over him.

"We're safe...We're at a safe house not far from the city." Nina takes his hand in her own. "How are you feeling?"

"What—what-happ…-ened?"

Before she answers he remembers, the memories screaming in his throbbing head.

Smoke.

The sounds of bullets.

Explosions.

Fire.

Blood.

Rachel's blood.

Rachel.

Rachel.

Rachel in his arms.

Rachel.

"RACHEL!" He screams, and bolts up in bed. Cameron's arms encircle him, keeping him from jumping to his feet.

A wave of nausea hits him and the world flips.

He slowly lies back down, a tear leaking from the corner of his eye.

"Rachel…Rachel…" He whispers. Nina is sobbing softly next to him.

Cameron's jaw hardens.

"She took a bullet in the stomach. Dr. Rosen did everything he could…" His voice hitches as tears choke him up. " She's still alive though."

"Still alive?" Bill's eyes widen with hope, a hope that is dashed when he sees the look on his friend's face.

"Belinda created a serum that restarted her heart…" Seeing the look of confusion on Bill's face, Cameron hastily explains. "She's the alpha we collected from the home."

Bill nods in understanding as Cameron continues.

"So she got her heart beating again, but her injuries are extensive. She's in a comma…" Cameron sighs and gasps out the last words. "The damage of her brain…it's bad. Dr. Rosen…he doesn't think she's going to wake up."

The dark haired man moans in pain. His heart beats wildly in his chest, feeling as though someone is holding it in their hand. And they are squeezing, constricting it tighter with every passing second.

"How long? How long have I-been out?" Bill stutters.

"4 days." Nina answers quietly. "We thought…" Her voice catches. " We thought you were going to die."

Bill closes his eyes, letting his head sink into the soft pillow.

Calm.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Rachel.

Keep the breath in and drown in the pain of loss. Fall flailing beneath the dark depths. Let it consume your soul. Let the devil dance with your breath as he snatches it from you wearing a gilded mask. Let the pain consume you until you drown.

Choke a breath out.

Try to still your heart for it beats too fast against your bruised ribs.

Try to come to terms.

She's still alive.

There is a chance, however small, that she'll come back to you.

Shiver softly.

Embrace the peaceful darkness like a long lost friend. A long lost friend that will help you forget the friend that is slipping through your fingers like sand.

_Time races._

_The clock ticks._

Somewhere underground a dark haired boy awakes alone in a cold cell. He shivers and buries his head in his bare hands. His shirt is gone. His pants are so ripped he may as well be naked against the bitter air that surrounds him.

The cell is made of mirrors. Nothing but him in their gleaming depths. Thousands of raven haired boys that mimic his every move. Thousands of raven haired boys and a camera that bleeps red, like an eye it stares at him in every moment. There in his dreams. There when he wakes. Always there.

He touches his neck, pain ripping through him as he feels the dark bruises that encircle his pale throat. His fingers touch the bruises and the cause of them. A heavy bracelet around his neck, hard, bruising him with every breath.

He wraps his thin arms around himself, keeping his eyes closed.

Because the darkness is so much better than a thousand reflections of him. A thousand reflections that let him see how he looks like and how he has changed.

A thousand reflections that make it seem as though he is not alone, yet for once, he wishes that he was.

He wishes he was alone rather than with himself, for even when his lids close, the image of his own body so bloodied is enough to make him shiver even more.

There are no more nightmares, because the nightmares are the reality.

_The clock ticks again and again, eyes watching the ink black hands. Eyes waiting for the stroke of midnight._

The hands move faster.

Faster.

Faster.

_Time is running out._


	26. The Lull Before the Storm

**Hello everyone. Sorry again for the late update. Fanfiction is being a bit tricky because I was unable to log in for a while, not sure if you had that problem...But it's fix and here you are! The longest chapter I have ever written! Let's just hope we don't have any tech problems with the updating of this one. Well, you've waited long enough, ENJOY!**

Bill stumbled into the room. Everywhere he stepped exuded richness. From the deep mahogany floors to the chandeliers that hung above the corridors like stars. Everything was so beautiful. When he rounded the corner to the living room he saw his family seated on the floor and available seats. A dark haired man dressed impeccably in a crisp white button down and black pants was taking handfuls of coins and bunching them in his fists. When he opened his palm again Bill was shocked to see what looked like a bomb in his hand. The man then passed it to the girl they had taken from the mansion, where she would fill it with a liquid that she seemed to grasp from the air. By her side, a girl with brilliant red curls watched the two of them with wide eyes.

"Bill!" Nina leapt up and hugged him, then helped him to the seat she was previously sitting in. "How are you feeling!"

"I am feeling fine Nina, I swear. What happened?"

"I was checking Thomson to see if you guys were coming back when I saw all the men moving towards you. So we went and collected the other two alphas and came to your rescue." Skylar said, not looking up to from where she and Tiana were drawing something up.

Dr. Rosen approached him and looked him over. Bill couldn't help but notice the old man's red rimmed eyes. The two old friends nodded to each other. Acknowledging that they were both thinking of a dark haired woman asleep somewhere in this strange house.

The impeccably dressed man rose to his feet. "Zachary Summers. Welcome to my home."

Bill nodded. The girl by his side, sitting cross legged on the plush carpet, raised her hand in greeting, her beautiful copper face splitting into a smile. "Belinda Luz. Glad you're feeling better!" Much to his surprise, strands of her dark hair turned a bright yellow.

"Gwen Everdeen." The red haired girl said with a shy smile.

"Doc, what's happening?"

Dr. Rosen returned to his seat before answering his old friend's question. He looked at every person in the room.

Cameron and Christopher pouring over a map on a large wooden table.

Tiana and Skylar muttering in quiet voices.

Zachary and Belinda making grenades in the corner, watched by Gwen.

Bill seated on a soft couch, Nina looking at him with worried eyes.

Rachel was in a comma somewhere in the mansion. Hazel hadn't left her side.

The doctor sighed, and for a moment felt a thousand years old.

"We storm Binghamton tomorrow. Red Flag is ready. We just have to get them an opening. "

"Tomorrow?" Bill's voice cracked. "Why so soon?"

"Because they won't be ready for us. " Skylar answered from the corner. "We have waited for too long. It's time to end this."

Bill nodded, closing his eyes to take in everything that had come his way in only a matter of minutes. Rachel in a comma. Three new alphas. The moment they had all been waiting for to happen the next day.

He opened his eyes and took a deep breath.

"So what's the plan?"

* * *

><p>Belinda walked up the stairs that led to the roof of the mansion, two cups of cocoa in her hands. There he was. Seated on the shingled roof, legs dangling off the edge. Head in his tanned hands. She carefully made her way to him and sat down next to his still body. He accepted the cup of cocoa with a soft smile, but it was clear to her that he was lost in thoughts.<p>

"I never got to thank you for saving my life."

"It was nothing. We were the ones who got you into that mess anyway."

She leaned back and looked at the dark sky.

"Isn't it amazing? How many stars you can see in the sky?"

He was quiet. She took a deep breath and stared into space as she tried to reach him the only way she could.

"When I was a little girl I never knew I was special. My ability only developed in my teens. You can imagine my surprise then. To go to sleep one day perfectly normal then wake the next morning with the ability to manipulate the molecules of the air. With my new ability, everything was clearer. Everything was sharper. I remember that day so vividly. It was the day I set my school on fire."

Christopher turned to her in surprise.

"Yes." She said with a bitter smile. "I had no idea of my power. I was toying with the different molecules I could see. I mixed the wrong chemicals and boom. Everything was gone. By best friend died in that explosion. The funny thing was people blamed me. I went to Juvie. A seventeen year old Latina girl..well let's just say didn't I fit in. But I had a way out. Agents from Red Flag found me. I thought my life was going to get better. They promised they would clear my record, in exchange for a highly explosive chemical. I worked months on it. I just wanted to start over. To forget what happened in only a matter of months. However it wasn't as easy as that. I found out what they planned to do with the chemical. They were going to blow up a mall. As a demonstration they said. I couldn't do that. Me? Murder innocent people? Never. So I destroyed the sample and I've been on the run ever since. I've become good at computers, it's helped me keep tabs on them, ensure that Red Flag agents don't ever come near me."

Belinda turned to him and put her hand on his shoulder. 'We've all led fucked up lives. But that's the part of what being an Alpha is. I doubt whatever is on your mind has more on my story."

Christopher smiled at her, this girl who he felt he could trust.

"You know, you remind me of her."

"Who?"

"Santa Maria Arrocha. Maria to me. She always preferred Maria. She has your ability to give hope when you can find none. "

He fell quiet and took a deep breath.

"She was my girlfriend. She was my life. And now she's rotting away in some cell where she is being experimented on like an animal."

"What happened?"

"I was a bad kid. I had a record. I was back from Juvie when I met her. At that time I thought that I had no future. My parents didn't even believe in me. The plan was I was going to die in my twenties because of some overdose. But then I met her. That quiet, shy girl who saw hope in the most flawed of people. I never could understand her. She was just so good. Maria sees the good in people, even when they can't see it themselves.

Over the summer we got closer and closer. It started off as a friendship. Her family had recently moved into the house across the street, so we saw a lot of each other. I taught her how to swim. She kept me away from beer and from my old friends. I met new guys and I changed. Our families were so happy. I kissed her one day on the beach, as we were sitting down watching the sunset. Then she told me something amazing. She loved me? Can you believe it? A broken wreck like me! She loved me.

One night she told me she didn't want any secrets between us, and she told me she had a special ability. She can determine whether someone is honest, and can see whether people mean to do good or ill. I was amazed. She was an alpha! Just like me! But we didn't call ourselves alphas, no, we didn't know the term, we were both X-Men fans so we called ourselves mutants. We became even closer."

Christopher laughed, and Belinda was shocked to see tears falling down his tanned cheeks.

"It was a Thursday when one of our neighbors houses caught on fire. I can hold my breath for long periods of time, so I jumped into the fire to help the family out. The smoke didn't affect me. People wrote about it in the newspaper "the boy who doesn't need to breathe." I guess Sullivan and her lot found out. I was working at Starbucks when I heard a police man's radio say that there was a raid going on at 221 Emerald Rd. My house. I ran so fast. When I got there I saw FBI men crawling all over the lawn. I also saw them dragging Maria in one of their vans. I fought so hard to get to her. I can still hear her screams in my head. I promised her I would find her. That I would bring her back home. Then I ran away. I became a fugitive. The news said that I killed my mother and sister, and then abducted my girlfriend. I was wanted by the FBI.

Red Flag gave me another chance. I've been waiting for the opportunity to get into Binghamton for 3 years. And here is it is. I will get her out of there, or I'll die trying. "

He sighed and unclenched his fists to wipe the tears off of his face. The two young alphas then sat there on the roof. Each unsure how to answer the other. Each lost in thoughts. Each not ready for the day that was soon to come.

"We will get her out of there Chris. I promise." Belinda said quietly, breaking the silence. "I promise…"

* * *

><p>Bill walked quietly into the makeshift hospital wing they had set up. Rachel was asleep on a large white bed, her hair spread out on the crisp sheets. Hazel was seated by her side. Quiet and unmoving as a statue, her hand in Rachel's still one. She looked up to see Bill sit next to her. He put an arm around her shoulders.<p>

"I've never had much of a mother. Much of anyone who cared and understood me. But Rachel…I feel like I can tell her everything. She knows me. I just…I can't lose her after I've just met her."

Bill squeezed the girls shoulder. "She's going to be ok kid. Now we have a long day tomorrow. You'd best go get some sleep."

Hazel nodded and wiped the tear that threatened to spill down her pale face. She got up slowly and walked out the door, looking back at Rachel one last time before she left the room.

The dark skinned man leaned in close to his friend.

"Oh Rachel. Don't do this to me. I've almost lost Gary and now you want me to lose you. I can't let that happen. Come on Rachel. Wake up. You've been there for me in everything. By my side in everything. I know I've given you a hard time. Do you remember all those times I used to steal Gary's lunch? He would get so angry at me! And he would go straight to you. You and Gary…You guys are like my siblings. My little brother. My little sister. I can't lose you. I won't lose you. I won't lose you…"

He took a deep breath, chocking up.

"We are going to Binghamton tomorrow. I guess I'm kind of glad you're not coming. That way I know that you are somehow safe. I will bring him back. I will bring Gary back safely to you. I know how much he means to you. I will bring him back. And when I do Rachel, you have to promise me that you'll wake up for him. He won't understand that you're still asleep. You know Gary. "

Tears spilled down his dark cheeks as he thought of the pale boy who was always laughing. Always so strange and sarcastic and wonderful and innocent and…He held back a sob. This wasn't meant to happen. None of this should have happened. Gary shouldn't be gone. They shouldn't be here working with strange people in strange places. They shouldn't be going somewhere where some of them are sure to die. Rachel shouldn't be in a comma. No Rachel should be laughing and listening into their conversations. She should be sharing Hummus with Gary. The both of them should be ok. No. Bill couldn't lose them. Not after all they had been through. He wouldn't lose them. He simply wouldn't.

"I love you Rachel and I need you to get better. You are my little sister. You are my family. You and Gary are the family I never knew I had. You know if I had a kid I was going to make you it's godmother? And Gary was going to be the godfather. Can you imagine Gary as a godfather? He would drive the kid mad!"

He laughed a bit at the thought. Took a deep breath and wiped away the tears.

" Everything is going to be ok. I promise. I will see you soon. You will be ok. You will wake up." With that he fell silent.

Dr. Rosen would walk in hours later and see Agent Bill Harken fast asleep at his friend's bedside, his dark hand wrapped around her still one. The sound of her heart moniter's steady beat the only sound in the room.

Doctor Rosen closed the lights and walked away. He had sent everyone to bed. Walking into the living room he saw Zachary sitting down, speaking with Gwen. He had only recently met the man, but whenever he talked to him he was strangely reminded of himself. And the girl, well she was still a complete mystery to him.

He sat opposite them and Zachary rewarded him with a smile upon seeing him.

"Still not asleep Doctor?"

"I can't sleep. I would ask the same thing of you both."

The Professor smiled.

"We were talking about tomorrow."

Dr. Rosen leaned in towards the new additions to his team, and asked the question that had been on his mind since they had first agreed to join them.

"Why? Why did the both of you leave your lives to help us? And on such short notice. You don't even know us. You probably don't remember all of our names! So why help us on an impossible mission?

"I've spent my life afraid of who I am. I've traveled from China to Mexico trying to discover myself. To find a reason to why I'm like this. I've never stayed in a place long enough to make real friends. Because I've been too afraid that someday men in black vests will take me to Binghamton. The only permanent thing about my life is this house. It's been in my family for centuries. I return here whenever I plan to decide where to go to next. I am ready for this to end. There comes a point where you have to take a stand. This feels like the right moment." Zachary Summers leaned back in his chair, brushing back his black hair, his brilliant blue eyes deep in thought.

"And you Gwen? You're so young. You have a family. Friends…"

"And what does it matter if you're a freak?" She answered bitterly. "My whole life I have been bullied and taunted for my individuality. My ability? I showed my parents and they thought a demon had possessed me. They took me to an exorcism. Afterwards, I told them it was gone when it did nothing but harden my heart. So I've practiced my ability in secret. All my life I've read books where heroes use their abilities for good. Here's my chance. What's the point living a life when you have to live it as a lie? There comes a point where you stop asking questions. When you stop wondering whether things could be different. There comes a moment where you just have to do and not think. You guys are fighting for something. When you came to my high school that day, I couldn't help but come. I had to. "

"And you're not afraid?"

'Someone would be a fool not to be afraid, that or completely insane. "

The three sat quietly, each lost in their thoughts. Three strangers bonded by a common goal, to try to save the lives of people they didn't know, well, except one old man who felt like the world was crashing around him as he thought of a blue eyed boy lost in the depths of a hell. A hell that they were going to lay siege to come morning. It was almost like a bad story told by an eccentric teenager.

* * *

><p>Skylar leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, clutching her phone close to her ear. Ringing. Ringing. Finally an answer.<p>

"Can I speak to her?"

She waited for a bit, and smiled as she heard the commotion in the house.

"Hi mommy."

"Hi sweetheart. How are you?"

Skylar's heart burst as she heard her daughter's sweet voice at the other end of the line.

"I'm fine. "

"Sweetheart I need to ask you something. Mommy is going away somewhere tomorrow. If anything happens, I need you to promise me that you are going to…" Skylar's voice caught as she thought of her beautiful daughter, completely oblivious to what was happening. "…remember that Mommy loves you so so so much."

"You sound sad Mommy."

"I'm not sad sweetheart. I just miss you."

"I miss you too mommy. When are you coming back home?"

"Soon pumpkin. Soon."

"Ok Mommy. It's past my bedtime and I need to go to sleep."

"Of course love, Good night. I love you."

"I love you too Mommy."

And with that the phone closed, and tears fell down Skylar's angular face. She gasped as she tried to hold back sobs.

"Never knew you were such a softie Skylar." Called a voice from the doorway.

"I like to think of myself like a Skittle. Hard on the inside, gooey and sweet on the inside." Skylar said with a smile as she turned to the lean figure of Tiana, her long frame leaned against the door frame.

"A skittle? I can dig that. Who was that on the phone?"

"My daughter."

" How sweet." The alpha's features softened as she approached the other woman. "You'll see her again. Don't worry."

"How can you be sure? This plan might not work. We could all die tomorrow and the world will never know what happened."

"You know, in my all my years, the world's ignorance never ceases to amaze me. I've been part of countless sieges, lost friends, killed others. Here we are fighting a war that hardly anyone in the world knows about. "

"Will the world every know about us?"

"I don't know Skylar, But I do know that your daughter will remember you for as long as she lives. If we die tomorrow, we die trying to free thousands of people held captive because they are different, and there is no tragedy in that."

Skylar smiled and wiped away her tears.

"You know Tiana, if I didn't know you, I might think you're…I don't know…wise."

The light haired alpha was quiet for a second, pondering what Skylar said.

"Naaaahhh. Wise? Pfft. You need your ears checked."

And with that one of the most powerful alphas in Red Flag and the alpha that had been hiding from them laughed and talked late into the night.

* * *

><p>"Cameron…"<p>

"Don't."

He leaned in and kissed her, his lips soft and desperate. Her arms wrapped around his neck as his hands held her close.

She pulled away again, just far enough to speak but still so close that their breaths mingled as she spoke.

"Cameron. If anything happens to us tomorrow, I just want you to know that I love you."

He leaned in and kissed her again, then whispered softly in her ear.

"I love you too."

And with that he led her by the hand to his bedroom where they fell asleep in each other's arms, their love keeping the nightmares at bay.

* * *

><p>Few slept that night. And if they slept it was restless. Each alpha in the rich house was too overwhelmed with what had happened the last few months. Between injuries and loss, friends and betrayals, death and destruction their relationships had only grown stronger. Together bonded with one common purpose. No one knew what they next day would bring. Everyone was so afraid. Afraid of pain. Afraid of losing one another. But their lives had already changed so much.<p>

And so tomorrow they pledged to take a stand. To fight for what's right. It's kind of a messed up story, with blood and love and a whole lot of waiting. For this is the worst part. The calm before the storm. That time where you wait for the whole world to explode around you.

Tomorrow a good man will fall and a good lady will die. Tomorrow hearts will break and tears will fall. Bullets will tear through soft flesh and innocent blood will be spilt. And in hell a war will break out that will change the course of the future. After tomorrow everything will be different.

We've all been through so much. Tomorrow is the day our heroes have been waiting for. Tomorrow is the siege of Binghamton. Tomorrow couldn't come sooner.

May god have mercy on our souls.

**Next time on Shattering Glass:**

**THE SIEGE ON BINGHAMTON**


	27. Electric Blue

_**Summary of what happened so you don't have to go back and read:**_

**Rachel is in a comma, Rosen waits on the sidelines as the alphas prepare to raid Binghamton to free Gary and the alphas within. They've asked for help from red flag, but will that aid come in time? **

_**Brief Review of characters:**_

**Bill, Nina, Cameron, and Skylar. **

**Tiana:**** Red Flag lieutenant, blonde, can control air. **

**Christopher:**** Another member of Red Flag, can breathe underwater and swim well. Has girlfriend, Santa Maria Arocha, inside Binghamton. **

**Hazel:**** Young, fiery, has lived her whole life in an insane asylum. Her alpha ability is the gift to make and control fire. **

**Belinda:**** Computer genius, has the ability to create chemicals by manipulating molecules in the air. **

**Zachary:**** A professor that constantly moves. Can change the shape of things by controlling molecules. **

**Gwen****: Telekenetic young girl with bright red hair. **

_**Inside Binghamton:**_

**Gary**

**Lily:**** can read peoples emotions the way Gary reads signals, his guardian angel in Binghamton**

**(****Shane Richards****, to be introduced but will be put in, promise)**

**Warning:**

**THIS IS THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THE INVASION OF BINGHAMTON. THERE WILL BE BLOOD, THERE WILL BE FIGHTING, THERE WILL BE DISTURBING MATERIAL. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. **

**Now (finally) the next chapter of Shattering Glass…**

Christopher turned to Zachary with a wide smile. "You'd best hold your breath."

"Don't be so smug about it." The raven haired man replied tartly, but his eyes crinkled in a barely contained smile, dulled by the nerves. Nodding at each other, they looked down.

Beneath the murky brown depths of the reservoir was a grate, a grate that could only be unlocked by a special key. Past the gate there was a 50 foot swim in the tunnels that ran underneath Binghamton, at the end a series of doors. It was another series of hallways until they could reach the entrance doors where the rest of the team waited for them. They had to make their way through in under 30 minutes, or the security watching the cameras were sure to see them.

Easy enough.

"Ready?" Zachary asked.

"Why do you even ask?" Christopher winked at the older man and dived into the depths. Groaning, Zachary followed suit, the cold water immediately knocking the breath out of him.

Through the goggles he had hastily thrown on, Zachary could make out Christopher at the bottom of the lake, breathing normally (lucky bastard) next to a rusted iron grate. Using the last of his breath, Zachary swam down, ears popping at the depth. Christopher pulled him in and put his mouth on the other man, breathing into him much needed oxygen.

Reinvigorated, Zachary molded the nickel in his hand into a long rod, concentrating as he put it into the lock and felt the molecules take the shape he needed. With a turn, the grate unlocked and Christopher pulled it open, gave Zachary another breath and disappeared into the darkness of the tunnels.

Belinda had made them memorize the path to the end, having figured out the fastest way through the labyrinth of tunnels by stealing multiple blueprints from Binghamton's base. And so the two swam—fingers skimming the algae covered walls—all the while reciting the directions that they had ruthlessly been taught.

Left. Right. Right. Right. Left. Left.

Christopher gave Zachary another breath.

Right. Left. Right. Right. Left. Right.

Zachary's arms burned, and he was running out of oxygen faster and faster.

Right. Left. Left. Left. Right. Left.

Still they pressed on, adrenaline propelling them into the lightless depths.

Left. Right. Left. Left. Right. Right.

At long last a glimmer, a light at the end of the tunnel—a light that they were sure to go into. Christopher speeded up and reached out until his fingers met the surface of a jagged wall, searching the broken surface until he wrapped his hand around the rusted rung of a forgotten ladder. He righted himself on it and swam up and up, fingertips skimming its sides.

The ladder seemed endless, the bars going so far up that Zachary almost became sure that they had swum into the clouds, and now were lost in the midnight depths of a storm cloud heavy with rain. But a growing reflection of light alerted him that they were nearing the end, and squinting through the dismal water, he could just catch a sight of the surface up above, beckoning the two alphas out of the darkness. Christopher propelled himself up and his head finally broke the layer of water, and air—cold, musty, bitter air flooded into his lungs, the oxygen a sweet relief. Spluttering to the surface soon afterwards, Zachary coughed and the pair was silent as they caught their breath, bobbing in the water. The light they had seen, a single, dusty, flickering, light bulb, illuminated nothing but their silhouettes in the biting dark.

"Is it safe to put on a light?" Zachary whispered voice hoarse.

"We have no other choice, it'll take hours to find the exit if we reach around in this blackness." Came the grim reply, and Zachary was momentarily blinded as the bright green light of a snapped glow stick washed over him. Christopher raised it into the air to illuminate their whereabouts, and it didn't take long for the light to show them something they never would un-see.

A graveyard.

All around them bloated bodies floated about, some bobbed in the water and others hung from chains to the ceiling, dangling about like the devil's ornaments. Zachary gagged and closed his eyes, but even the protection of his mind couldn't hide him from the images that made up his reality.

"Zachary." The man felt a hand on his shoulder, and he opened his eyes to see Christopher's face, lined with horror but kept calm by experience. "Do you notice something odd?"

"Apart from the bodies? Yes, it's rather chill in here." Zachary snapped.

"Very funny but no. With so many bodies, you'd think that there would be a terrible stench. But I can't smell anything, can you?"

"No."

The two looked around, the light from the glow stick turning the pale skin of the bodies to a sickly green.

They froze, eyes landing on the same thing.

The body of a thin woman, head up in the water, hair a brown halo about her, was breathing. In fact, at closer glance, they were all breathing, every last one.

"They're all alive." Christopher breathed. "How is that possible, that can't be possible."

"Unless they're all in a coma." Eyes widening, years spent in University kicked in as Zachary continued. "Coma patients are kept alive by fluids, what if the water we're in is infused with it; it would keep them alive for years."

"But why?"

"To study their heart rates, breathing rates, brain response…shit."

"What?!"

Zachary looked down at the pitch black water that they were floating in, mind racing. "These people, they can't all have been in coma's when they arrived here, and to keep them comatose would require some kind of medicine."

"And…"

"Like the rest of the medicine their given, it would be administered through the water."

Christopher looked around frantically. "We need to get out, now."

"No shit Sherlock. Over there." The pair swam manically to the far shore that Zachary pointed out, both muttering apologies under their breath as they shoved bodies out of the way. Reaching the end, Christopher pulled himself onto the cold hard surface, arms protesting as he slid his way up. "Will we fall into a coma?"

"I doubt so, it would take a long amount of exposure for us to fall under, but we have to get out fast just in case I've misjudged." Zachary said, walking through the door and beginning to open it, pausing when he saw Christopher studying a control panel. "Come on, we don't have much time."

"But we can't leave everyone in here, they'll be killed."

"We'll be killed if we stay here much longer. Anyway, how do you suppose to wake them up?"

"With the button that says terminate program."

"Then what are you waiting for."

Christopher studied the panel, leaning in closer as Zachary approached. "It requires a six digit code to unlock the button. The keyboard is below."

"Any ideas?"

"No…wait. " Closing his eyes, the younger alpha allowed all the memories to flow into his mind, everything he knew about Binghamton, about everything. Then his eyes opened and Christopher prodded the keyboard, each letter lighting up at his touch.

The terminate button glowed red and Christopher looked up at Zachary, and they both let out breaths they hadn't realized they'd been holding.

"You're brilliant, you know that? What was the password?

"I'll tell you if we both survive." Turning back to the circuit board, Christopher pressed the button and the world was awash with flashing lights, red flashing lights that turned the water blood red, and liquid began seeping from the sides of the chamber, diluting the medication.

"They'll be alright; we can come and get them when they wake up. Come on Christopher." Zachary unlocked the door and the pair made their way through door upon door, changing into their disguises all the way.

"How do I look?" Zachary asked before unlocking the last door. He had switched his wetsuit for green scrubs and a long white overcoat, a replica of the uniform worn by the doctors at Binghamton.

"Frightening. Me?" The older man studied his companion's thin white jumpsuit with a satisfactory nod.

"Pitiful. We'd best hurry before someone gets down here, the termination program will most definitely have caught their attention."Zachary unlocked the door, and the pair stepped out into the harsh fluorescent lights of a linoleum paved hallway.

Momentarily blinded by the sheer amount of white, the pair ran into their real life parallels.

"Watch it." A dark skinned doctor snapped, hand wrapped tightly around a patient's forearm. The alpha, pale and drained, allowed himself to be dragged quietly, feet leaving small scarlet scuff marks on the floor.

"Sorry." Zachary coughed. "Off day." He then grabbed Christopher in a similar fashion and pulled him round the corner.

"That was close." The aquatic alpha breathed.

"Shut it. Remember you're a patient. No talking."

"No need to be so rude about it."

Zachary smacked him.

"OW!"

"Only what you deserve, you filthy freak." Zachary smiled at the doctor passing by, the man giving him an odd look before hurrying off.

"If you're saying I'm filthy because I swam through a bog, than I'd like to point out that you just swam though the same body infested waters."

"Duly noted. Now come on, we haven't much time."

Trusting Belinda's stolen directions, the two walked swiftly down Binghamton's haunted halls. Christopher had it easier, playing the role of patient allowed him to keep his head down, but even that couldn't keep out the moans, cries, and screams as he was led through by his companion. Zachary on the other hand, had to deal with the sickening sights. The brilliant white walls only made the ruby more noticeable, the cleanliness off the halls only made the sights more horrific. Children torn apart before his very eyes, Zachary could do nothing but pray that somehow they could sense that help was on the way, their freedom decided by a battle that was already underway.

When the other alphas would later ask them how they managed to reach the gates undetected, the two would merely say that the angels, originally so helpless, finally stepped in and shielded them from piercing eyes. No one could disagree.

"What are you doing here, doc?" A guard stood up and walked towards them, the gate only feet away. "Giving me something to play with? Because he's a pretty one." The burly man traced his finger down Christopher's face, and the man looked up in response, promptly spitting at him.

"I really did not need that image in my head." The copper haired man kneed the guard in the stomach and the soldier doubled over, Christopher then snapping his neck.

Meanwhile Zachary rushed to the control panel, opening the door. Sunlight flooded in, and already they could hear the sounds of sirens as the lab realized it was under attack. Guards raced around the corner, pulling out machine guns and opening fire. But their bullets froze inches from their targets, and the men's eyes widened as Gwen walked forward, hand held in front of her. Giving them a cold smile, the flame haired girl sent the ammunition back, and the guards didn't have the time to scream before the iron tore through their bodies.

"Marry me." Christopher said to her, and Gwen laughed grimly in return.

"Be careful, if we make it through this, I may keep you to your word."

"INCOMING." Cameron shouted, opening fire at the new wave of guards that ran into the narrow passageway.

"Amateurs." Adrenaline pumping through his body, Agent Bill Harken stepped forward, rivulets of sweat streaming down his dark skin. But before he could enter the mesh a tornado of air ripped past beside him, clearing the hallway and breaking the necks of all those enemies inside. "We don't have time to play soldiers, boys." Tiana said, lowering her hand and waiting as the team readied themselves in front of her.

Bill, heart beating faster and faster as his muscles flexed.

Cameron, a hand wrapped firmly on the handle of a gun.

Nina, hair pulled back tightly.

Gwen, green eyes focused and dark.

Hazel, young but fierce, flames dancing along her body.

Skylar, carrying in her tattoed arms a rocket launcher.

Belinda, eyeing Skylar's launcher with envy, even though she had the power of it at her finger tips.

"Rachel is gone, so we don't have a link to the outside world. That means we have only one shot at this. Belinda, Hazel, Bill, and Christopher, make your way to the center. You've got to ensure that Red Flag can get in but you'll need to hurry, chances are the military is already on its way. The rest of us are going to start getting patients free. Remember, we are not going to look for the people we love." She eyed Christopher and the members of Rosen's team. "Everyone is a priority. Good luck."

"Let's go!" Christopher shouted, the roar of machine guns blasting against their ear drums as soldiers poured in through hidden doorways in the walls. Hazel threw a ball of fire into the air and Tiana directed it with deadly aim towards the attackers, Belinda sealing their fate with a wave of acid rain pulled from the air that burned away their flesh.

Bill shouted out and barreled an opening through the guards, Christopher, Hazel, and Belinda close behind, backpacks strapped tightly on them.

The fight was the pure definition of chaos. Bullets roared and people screamed, as the soldiers were pulled into the lab, more and more alphas got free and began fighting for the invading force, and bit by bit the soldiers were pushed back and back, and with hurricanes of air Tiana broke apart the doors to the cells, freeing from their depths starved alphas with nothing on their mind but blood.

But this chaos isn't where direction should be directed, it's the journey of the other half that we should pay attention to. Taking the side hallways and freeing prisoners as they went, four alphas raced towards the center of the lab.

Bill ran ahead with Christopher, both clearing the path as their female counterparts opened the doors to cells and urging the alphas to get out. Belinda was just opening one iron door by melting the lock when a blast knocked her off her feet and back down the hall.

"BELINDA." Christopher dove towards her just as the rubble separated the two from Bill and Hazel. The two alphas collapsed on the floor, chests heaving as their ears rang, but despite the wracking coughs from the dust that filled the space, they rose on aching feet.

"Christopher. Come in Christopher. CHRISTOPHER. Son of a bitch ANSWER ME."

"No need to get your panties in a twist Bill, we're both alright."

"Can you clear the rubble?"

"No it'll take too long; Belinda and I will take the long way, reach the meeting point and wait for us there. Make sure it's clear when we get there and start planting them."

"Over and out."

Christopher turned to the copper skinned girl with a concerned look. "Ready to continue?"

Sighing, Belinda stretched her sore arms and wiped away the blood that dripped into her eyes. "Yeah, we'd best hurry."

The two took a deep breath and raced back down the hall, entering the fray at full speed. Christopher jumped up on the shelves of the lab, avoiding the teeming masses as the two sides battled it out. Belinda merely spun through the attackers, every so often stopping to touch a soldier's face and setting them on fire with chemicals that could never be put out. Bullets whipped past their ears and as they raced through the room there could be seen no clear winner, both armies at a deadlock as the weakened mutants fought against the captors that had condemned them to lives without the sun.

"WATCH OUT." Belinda screamed as a soldier threw a grenade at her partner, but Christopher only caught it with a deft hand and tossed it right back at its sender, the man looking at it for a moment in horror before being ripped apart, blood and organs splattering those near him.

As they made their way deeper into Binghamton, the crowds thinned and soon the halls were empty but for flickering lights and broken tables, knocked over walls and blood stained floors. Far from the battle it was eerily quiet, the only sounds in their ears the heavy beating of their hearts and their ragged breaths as they pushed themselves faster and faster through the desolate halls.

"Wait." Belinda called out and Christopher slowed down, looking back at her, body tense and ready to fight.

"What is it?"

The girl pointed to a locked iron door, a door that nobody had bothered to open.

"Stand back." Belinda rubbed her hands together and called on the chemicals in the air, pleased to find the ones she wanted teeming through the still air of the laboratory. Blowing towards the door, she jumped and covered Chris as the door blew open, the broken iron door flying right over their heads.

"Thanks for the heads up." Christopher breathed, looking at where the door had embedded itself in the opposite wall.

But Belinda didn't answer, instead got to her feet and walked towards opening which spewed smoke, it's tendrils wrapping softly round her ankles. Lights flashed red, illuminating a darkened cell center. Belinda reached to deactivate the cells locks before Christopher grabbed her hand. She looked up at him with surprise.

"Why were these alphas put here?" He asked softly. "Why weren't they with the rest?"

"What does it matter, they're alphas and we're letting them out." She tugged her arm away from him and pressed the button, but held her breath with him as the doors to all the cells slid open.

Silence.

Then slowly, a bloodied hand reached over and gripped the edge of one of the middle cells, some fingers missing. Following the hand came jaggedly cut feet and the prisoner struggled into their view.

Bile rose in Christopher's throat and he stood, eyes transfixed on the poor creature's broken form. Belinda spun around and dashed down the hall, heaving the contents of her stomach on the floor.

The man…or at least they thought it was a man walked blindly towards them, one hand reaching out in front of him. One eye had been viciously gouged out, lips that were most certainly not his own sewn on his mouth. Half his nose was missing and his body moved roughly, like a robot with the wrong parts. And he was not the only one. From the depths of their cells, ten in total, jig-sawed alphas shuddered into their view, each one more terrifying than the next.

The man that had walked out first approached them, looking them up and down with a single electric blue eye. He pointed at the door on the other side of the room; his fingernails had been pulled off.

"Yes, we opened the door." Christopher said slowly, but he was stiff, body instinctively angled to keep Belinda behind him.

Nodding, the creature looked up at the two and its face split into what would have been a smile, except that the haphazardly sewn lips were not capable of much movement, so his face turned into a grotesque mask, blood dripping down the stitches. Then he looked down at his hands, and the eye closed.

Christopher was poised, ready to go, when suddenly the creature began flicking his hands through the air, fingers touching unseen things in the empty space.


	28. The Terrible and the Tragic

**Thank you so much for the reviews, I'm trying to update now as best I can, and I hope those of who are still reading enjoy the story!**

**Now back to Shattering Glass…**

Christopher was poised, ready to go, when suddenly the creature began flicking his hands through the air, fingers touching unseen things in the empty space.

Eyes widening, Belinda stepped from around Christopher and approached the broken man, but the creature's eye kept closed as it focused on the air. Then, slowly, bits of light twirled off its fingertips, and the sparks began to write in elegant handwriting.

_Thank you. _

The alphas gave a breathless laugh, stunned at the turn of events. Electric blue eye opening, the creature looked at them solemnly before continuing to spin his fingers through the space.

_How can I help you?_

The sparks twirled in the air as the loopy handwriting hung suspended in the air, glowing brightly as though someone had written through the walls of time and space, giving them a view of a universe where the beings were of true light and the planets of silver glass. So beautiful was the light that now illuminated the dull space that the alphas almost didn't realize that the cuts on their bodies were slowly healing, the last oozes of blood running down their skin before the gashes and burns healed, and the sparks running over their bodies and bathing them in soothing warmth.

Belinda looked up at the creature in shock, a small tear falling unnoticed down her cheek. Approaching it quietly, she whispered quietly. "Who could do something so terrible to someone so good?"

_Monsters that hide in the shadowy corners of laboratories. _

The ground shook underneath them and a scream ripped the air. Christopher looked to the door.

"We don't have much time."

Nodding, the creature looked over the people in the cells, before returning to the smoke.

"What's he doing?" Belinda asked as he disappeared into the smoke.

But Christopher didn't answer, instead looked intently into the darkness where the creature's silhouette approached, someone leaned against him.

Belinda's eyes widened when a small involuntary cry was pulled from her companion's lips, Christopher jumping forward and pulling someone from the arms of their newly found friend. She approached steps uncertain as she heard the sobs from the man that now cradled a body in his arms.

"Chris…?"

He looked up at her, face covered with trails of tears that cleaned the smoke off his skin. She took a closer look at the figure in his arms.

She probably had been beautiful before she had entered this hell. Black hair was raggedly cut to her shoulders, matted, thin, and missing in places. Long gashes ripped her pale face, but her eyes remained a vivid green. Skeletal arms wrapped tightly around Christopher's neck, and chapped lips murmured words in his ears. It didn't take long for Belinda to realize who she was.

"You came for me." Maria whispered voice hoarse and weak.

"Of course I did, I've been trying to get to you since that afternoon."

"Why?"

"Because I love you."

Christopher traced her jawline, kissing her gently, unseeing of the wounds that marred her face.

Another crash rocked the building and dust fell from cracks in the ceiling.

"We need to get out of here Chris."

The alpha nodded, lifting up Maria into her arms, cradling her frail body against her face. Answering Belinda's questioning look he spoke in a soft tones. "I'm not going to send her in the midst of the fight; she'll be safest with us." He turned to the mutated alphas. "You're welcome to come with us."

_No. We've waited too long to fight, we won't rest until we get the blood we deserve._

"Of course. Come on Belinda, we need to go."

With that the two alphas raced away, turning corners, Christopher holding Maria as tight as he could. As they neared their destination, bullets screamed past them, nipping at their clothes. Soldiers in bullet proof suits were hot on their trails, their machine guns deafening in the echoing halls.

Belinda turned around and stopped, screaming. "KEEP GOING, DON'T LOOK BACK."

Christopher shot her a look before disappearing into the smoke down the corridor. Closing her eyes, she tugged at the atoms in the air, death approaching with every breath she took.

But not today.

Belinda opened her eyes and screamed, waves of acid flying from her hands towards her enemies. The soldiers shouted as the liquid burned through their vests, killing them in seconds.

The alpha didn't wait to see if there were any survivors, she ran down the hallways, leaving the cries behind her.

Christopher breathed a sigh of relief as his partner entered his sight, watching as she caught her breath once she realized she was amongst friends. Hazel wrapped her in a fierce embrace before tugging at her arm as they set to work. Bill and Hazel had already done a lot, just finishing connecting the bombs that had packed their bags. They now set to work on those in Christopher's and Belinda's packs, the lights flickering in the wide space that was the middle of Binghamton.

They were finishing putting the last connections together with trembling adrenaline pumped fingers when soldiers poured in from one of the doors, guns and grenades intent on blood.

"GET DOWN." Bill roared, but he was too late as the alphas dove to the ground.

Blood splattered the walls as Hazel was hit in the back, falling to the linoleum with a scream.

"HAZEL!" Belinda screamed, diving towards her and protecting the younger girl with her body. Bill pulled out his gun amid the wave of bullets, firing back, desperately attempting to keep the approaching soldier's at bay.

Sweat dripped down Christopher's face as he shielded Maria, blue eyes meeting Bill's as the explosions rocked the earth beneath them, deafening and terrifying.

Suddenly a blurred shape began to attack the soldiers, sharp cracks accompanied with cut off shrieks as necks were broken with fast precision. Stealing the attention away from the alphas gave Bill the chance to get to his feet and start shooting the attackers, Christopher joining the fray with their unknown savior.

The last soldier fell with a ragged cry, and Bill turned to the man who had just saved their lives. Wiping blood off his hand, the man had piercing eyes and dusty brown hair, muscles rippling under the white jumpsuit that marked him as a Binghamton patient.

"Shane." He said, extending a hand to Bill. " Shane Richards. Formerly military and CIA."

"If I wasn't married, I'd kiss you." The dark skinned man answered with a relieved laugh, clasping the man's hands. "You just saved our lives."

"Well, you just saved all of our lives so it was the least I could do." The twenty six year old replied.

The sounds of bullets interrupted them as sharp lights appeared down the hallway.

"Ready for another round?"

"Always." Shane said with a wicked smile.

"BILL, CHRISTOPHER." Belinda cried out, and the men turned to the sound of the girl's broken voice. The alpha cradled Hazel in her lap, tears leaking out the girl's eyes. But it wasn't only Hazel, blood dribbled from Maria's chapped lips as the red stain on her shirt grew larger and larger with every ragged breath.

"No…" Chris choked, diving to her side and cradling her in his arms. Bill joined Belinda on the floor, looking down at Hazel with wide eyes.

"Hang in there kiddo." Her eyes opened and she smiled.

"I'm fine." She said weakly, attempting to get up, only to fall down as pain distorted her features. The sound of bullets and men's voices came closer and closer as her face grew paler and paler. "We don't have much time…" Hazel murmured. "I need to set off the bombs…it's the only chance we have to winning…we need to get Red Flag in here…"

"You don't have the strength to set off the bombs from down the hall…"

She gave Belinda a weak smile. "I know."

Realization dawned on Bill's face and he gripped her tightly. "No, no no! Don't you dare!"

"Someone has to set off the bombs, and it's not going to be either one of you. Bill, you have a wife who's waiting for you at home. Belinda, you have your parents out there…you need to explain to them what really happened all those years ago. No more running…" Hazel coughed, blood seeping from her lips.

"You can make it through this. You just need to go to the doctor; you'll be ok in no time…"

"I know…but these bombs have to be set off. I'm the only one with nothing to live for."

"You can live for us." Bill said softly and Hazel smiled softly at him.

"You, all of you, you saved my life. Reminded me that I'm more than just a mistake, and I'll never be able to find the words to thank you for that….but…but I'm ok doing this. This is my choice."

"No, Hazel. You're not going to stay, I am." The three alphas turned at Christopher's voice.

He was kneeling on the floor, hands wrapped around Maria, looking up at him as tears fell from the corners of her green eyes, breaths shallow and weak, front covered in blood.

"Christopher…"

"I'm not leaving her again, and she's dying. Hazel, you have your whole life ahead of you, but she is my life. I won't leave her here to die alone, not again." The sounds of boots echoed in their ears as the soldier's approached. "Go, leave now."

"No, no you can't do this Chris…" Belinda sobbed, but he only gave her a small smile.

"Yes I can, and I will. Now leave, please, I'm not going to watch you die as you're saying goodbye."

Bill nodded to Shane and the alpha lifted Hazel in his arms, the girl screaming as he bore her away from the scene, and Bill pulled at Belinda as she cried out, begging for Christopher not to do this.

But the aquatic alpha heard nothing of this as he held the lighter in his tanned hands, hands covered in Maria's blood. She looked up at him from beneath thick eyelashes.

"Don't leave me…"

"Never."

He kissed her forehead softly as the soldiers entered the room, guns screaming. Bullets ripped through his skin but he felt no pain as he smiled softly down at her.

Christopher breathed, closing his eyes as he threw the lighter at the bombs.

"I'll see you on the other side."


	29. Corpses of Us All

_**Previously on Shattering Glass:**_

_Bill nodded to Shane and the alpha lifted Hazel in his arms, the girl screaming as he bore her away from the scene, and Bill pulled at Belinda as she cried out, begging for Christopher not to do this. _

_But the aquatic alpha heard nothing of this as he held the lighter in his tanned hands, hands covered in Maria's blood. She looked up at him from beneath thick eyelashes. _

"_Don't leave me…"_

"_Never."_

_He kissed her forehead softly as the soldiers entered the room, guns screaming. Bullets ripped through his skin but he felt no pain as he smiled softly down at her. _

_Christopher breathed, closing his eyes as he threw the lighter at the bombs. _

"_I'll see you on the other side."_

_**Now back to the story…**_

Everyone stopped when the explosions rocked the building. Men and women, moments away from killing each other, weapons held aloft as cracks appeared in the walls and the floors shook beneath their feet, the bodies of the dead rolling this way and that. Flames roared through passageways, but Alphas with brave hearts held the fire at bay.

Then silence.

No one moved. Every breath was taken hesitatingly, confusion marring the scarred faces of the fighters. Blood seeped from wounds slowly, as though someone had taken a remote and frozen the frame, and now the characters in the film were coming back to life. Then they heard it. The sound of air being pulled and twisting, the shout of soldiers.

The helicopters had arrived.

From the hole the explosions had ripped in the middle of the Institute, Red Flag agents dropped down from aboard helicopters as planes circled the smoking building. When the new alpha soldiers stormed into battle, the patient's gave a triumphant cry and returned to their games of blood and murder, new found strength surging with the hope of victory.

But no such victory was seen in the eyes of the alphas that had witnessed the explosion.

Bill got to his feet, covered in dust and ash, a weak Hazel keeping them protected from the chemical induced flames. There was nothing left of the center of Binghamton, just a gaping crater and a collapsed ceiling, bars of iron twisted and sticking out of the roof, like silver blood vessels. Just destruction, not a single sign of Christopher and his beloved Maria. Not even a body.

"The bodies must have been incinerated in the explosion." Belinda chocked, hand covering her mouth to stay the sobs that wracked her body.

Shane looked at them, hands still around Hazel's still from-rendered unconscious in the process of protecting her friends. "I know you mourn your friend, but the time for regret isn't now, we are in the middle of a war. Don't let his sacrifice be in vain."

Wiping away his tears, Bill nodded, righting his tattered suit jacket. He looked up at the soldiers coming down the hole like spiders; planes hovering in the sky.

"HARKEN!" The dark skinned man turned at the sight of Tiana running towards him, a smile on her bloodied face, hair around her shoulders after it had fallen from its stays. "Bill, we're winning. Alphas are taking over the wings of Binghamton, I spoke to one of the generals, and they are bringing in the large cargo planes to get people away from here. "

"Good. We'll call people in here and help the wounded. You stay here and ensure no soldiers get close."

"My pleasure." She said with a manic laugh. "I'll hold the keep with Christopher; the red flag agents know the two of us. Where is he?"

Bill was quiet as the smile fell from her face, turning to a mask of confusion. But Shane interrupted, stepping forward.

"I'll help you."

Tiana nodded, looking between him and Bill with an uncertain face, but she didn't press on the whereabouts of her friend, her attention turning to cries from the roof.

"THE AIRFORCE! THE AIRFORCE IS HERE!" Someone shouted.

"DON'T RETREAT! KEEP THE PLANES HERE TO GET PEOPLE OUT!" Tiana shouted over the roar of incoming jet fighters. "Leave them too me."

With a gust of wind she climbed up through the roof, the sunlight momentarily blinding her. The sound of jetfighters almost made her fall over as planes approached their keep, guns aimed at the helicopters that had come to the rescue.

Tiana smiled.

Clouds rolled over the sky and from their growing black depths, the mouths of three tornadoes began to approach the ground. The alpha held her hands up, one holding tight a bubble of air that protected the institute from the fury of the cyclones, one willing the swirling air towards the jetfighters. The pilots didn't even have the chance to turn around before they were sucked into the grey circles, fire adding color to the dark wind as the planes were torn to pieces.

Below her the alphas were running down the linoleum halls, the once pristine center dusty and covered in blood. Bill loaded people into the planes, Tiana allowing them passage from her fury, the weak and the strong alike rushed into the bellies of the gargantuan planes. One by one they set off, away from the battle, the institute emptying with every passing moment.

Deep in the of the institute, Cameron held off the soldiers as Nina directed the alphas towards freedom. The bullets that flew at the pair were easily held off by Gwen as her green eyes narrowed at the pieces of iron, willing them towards those who fired them.

Belinda watched with broken eyes as Hazel was pulled onto one of the planes, following her with insistence from Bill. The agent fought with Shane as they cleared the halls of soldiers and ensured the safety of the patients.

Had the sky not been covered in clouds, the alphas would have noticed that the sunset was a scarlet red as night fell on the battle, Tiana's strength keeping the military at bay. Generals in the Pentagon roared in fury as they realized they were fighting a losing battle. But they could do nothing as the planes bearing the alphas disappeared into the fog, the result of one of the Red Flag generals, making the world below them blind of the great planes that surged overhead, carrying hundreds too safety.

Bill turned to Shane and nodded, the other alpha shouting over the din. "SOUND THE ALARM."

An alpha with shaggy blond hair looked up and screeched, his vocal chords carrying through the building, a message to all those inside that the seventh and last cargo plane was being loaded with passengers.

Cameron gave Nina a quick kiss before ordering her onto the plane, running down the hallways to make a final check. A blue armband moved up and down his forearm as he raced through the broken halls. Sunlight seeped through cracks in the walls and ceiling, shattering glass glinting in the light. It was as if time slowed as the screech broke the windows and shattered the transparent sheets. Cameron shouted through the halls, asking if anyone was still inside. But he received no answer in the silent depths, the only things inside the bodies of alphas and soldiers layered over each other, growing as cold as the air inside in death.

Another screech told him to return and the alpha's heart raced as he made it to the center of the institute, the plane rising up out of the crack. Bill extended his hand and Cameron took it, the agent hauling the other man into the belly of the carrier. The two collapsed, doors shutting closed behind them.

Hearts beating fast, the sound of blood loud in their ears, they looked around them. The belly was packed with the broken bodies of Red Flag and Binghamton alphas alike, all laying on the floor as the magnitude of the injuries became known as the adrenaline left their bleeding bodies.

"Cameron." The alpha was assaulted by a woman with dark hair, Nina burying her face in his neck, his arms coming around her in relief.

Then he realized it. He turned to Bill, who sat leaning against the iron wall of the plane, eyes wide. The agent smiled grimly, nodding slowly before closing his eyes. They had done it, they had won. Cameron looked around the plane.

Tiana was wrapped in Skylar's arms, exhausted from the power that kept the military at bay, the tattoed alpha pulling her hair from her face, a long gash in her skin.

Shane had his head in his hands, breathing shallow and rapid.

Gwen braided her dark red hair, eyes unseeing in the distance, Zachary at her side, allowing her to lean against his chest.

Belinda seated somewhere in some other plane, Hazel in her arms.

Christopher….Cameron looked around suddenly, and Nina pulled away from him, looking at him questioningly.

"Where's Christopher?"

Bill stiffened as all eyes turned towards him. Tiana got up on unsteady feet, walking towards them.

"Bill?"

The dark skinned man looked at them, mouth open, turning away for a second.

That's all they needed.

Tiana's face remained the same, but she fell to her knees, looking forward uncomprehendingly. Gwen began to cry, but no sound came out, her thin body only shaking with silent sobs, Zachary's arms coming around her as he too allowed silent tears to fall out of his blue eyes.

"No…" Tiana choked finally, unable to breath. "No…not him…" Nina approached her, pulling the other woman into an embrace.

Cameron still looked at Bill in shock, punching the floor in anger. But the agent did nothing except turn away from his mourning friends, covering his face in hands and finally letting himself cry.

The other alphas on the plane that day would tell stories of how the large man in the suit began to sob at the back of the plane, how he sobbed for hours as they flew in the sky.

He sobbed for the people who had died, for the people who lay dying, and for the people who never had the chance to see the sun. He sobbed for the blood spilling out open wounds and the eyes glazed over, for the burns that marred the faces of the young and the families torn apart over the price of being different. He sobbed for Christopher, for Maria. For Gary who he still hadn't seen and might never see. For Rachel who lay in a coma far from here, for the children with no fathers and the fathers with no children. He sobbed because of war and pain and tragedy and the horror of reality. And even when his tears ran out and his body stilled into an unsteady sleep, the screams of the wounded rang in his ears and the faces of the dead and broken seared his closed eyelids.

War will make corpses of us all.


	30. Only light

**Parting is such sweet sorrow, is it not? Hello and goodbye everyone. This is the final chapter to Shattering Glass. I just wanted to thank you all for your patience and support, it's been amazing and I really hope you've enjoyed the story. If you still have questions, please just message me or even visit my tumblr which is tardisbluewarlock. And of course, a farewell review would be lovely. I hope you enjoy the final chapter, and thank you again so much. It's been a real pleasure. **

**-theuntitled**

"Gary!"

"Gary."

"Gary!"

Bill, Rosen, Cameron, and Nina ran throughout the city of alphas, past the wounded being rushed to the hospitals and the families tearfully united.

Red Flag had been building this town in the middle of mountains for a year, constructing houses, hospitals, theaters, anything alphas could ever need. The city lay in the center of the mountains, only the abilities of alphas with control over the weather keeping the weather as warm as a summer's day and the oxygen levels rich in the once barren valley. A paradise that no _human_ could find.

But the group of alphas paid little mind to the scenery, only one person on their minds.

"How are we supposed to find him? What if he's not even here?" Nina sobbed, tears falling down her cheeks in both fear and frustration.

Cameron leaned over and kissed the top of her head, holding the other alpha tightly. "We'll find him, we have to find him…"

"Excuse me?"

The team turned at the soft, feminine, voice behind them. A tall pale girl was looking at them apprehensively, covered in a blanket. Her hair was long and light brown, eyes a beautiful hazel. "Sorry, you wouldn't be looking for Gary, would you?"

Rosen gasped and walked towards her in astonishment. "How did you know? Where did you meet him? Have you seen him?'

"He spoke a lot of you, and I could see your desperation and fear. See, I can see emotions…so I guess I figured you might be the team. Are you Doctor Rosen?'

"Yes my dear, I am." He calmed his hysteria. "Have you seen him?"

"I'm sorry, I haven't. The last time I saw him was in Binghamton a couple weeks ago, but I think I can help you find him."

"How?"

"As I said, I can see emotions, and once I get to know a person…I don't know, I can't explain it…" Rosen nodded at her encouragingly and she continued. " Once I know a person I can feel their signature, and I can track down Gary looking for it."

"You could do it? You could find him?" Bill approached the girl uncertainly.

"I think I could….I can at least try."

"What's your name sweetheart?" Doctor Rosen asked, looking up at her curiously.

"Lily." She replied quietly.

He smiled at her. "Lead the way."

She nodded, looking at each member of the team before taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. Focusing on the thought of Gary, she remembered him. The dark black of his hair, the pale white of his skin. How bright his blue eyes were when he thought of his family.

She opened her eyes and focused on the color blue, and sure enough, from the din of emotions that raced through the air, seen only to her, she found him. A faint blue signature uniquely his own. Feelings of pain, confusion, and above all hope flooded into her.

He was searching for them too.

"This way." Lily murmured, making her way through the crowds of people around her, trying to ignore the emotions that swarmed in and out of her vision, focusing on him.

Cameron and Nina looked at each other for a moment, unsure whether to feel exhilarated or fearful, but raced after her nonetheless. Bill and Rosen followed suit, hearts heavy but growing lighter with every step.

The group burst through the hospital doors, around them alphas injured in the fighting and long held patients filled every open space, doctors on fast forward as they attempted to get everyone treated and where they needed to be.

Screams of anguish hurt their hearts as families watched their family members die, and cries of fear as their loved ones were torn away from their arms and into the waiting surgery rooms as men and women attempted to save as many lives as they could.

The emotions in the building were too much for Lily and she collapsed momentarily to the floor, clutching her throbbing head.

"He's here." She gasped, a pale hand pointing to the other side of the room.

"Are you alright?" Doctor Rosen asked worriedly, checking her over for wounds.

"I'm fine, I just need a moment to adjust. Go to him, he's trying to find you." Lily gave him a reassuring smile, watching as the group made their way through the masses of people to find their lost friend.

Love.

"Gary!" Rosen cried, spinning around, seeing nothing but the flurry of white coats and the bloody figures they carried.

"Gary!" Bill tried to shove people aside as he scanned all the faces around him, trying to find a familiar one.

"…Bill?"

A weak voice pulled at his attention and the dark skinned alpha turned around.

He lay on a stretcher, covered with a foil emergency blanket to keep him warm. Blood dripped from his dark hair and his skin was terribly pale, almost as white as the sheets he lay on. An oxygen mask covered his nose and math.

Barely recognizable.

But when the eyes met his, a brilliant electric blue foggy with anesthetic, Bill knew.

"…Gary?" The alpha choked, ignoring the tears that spilled down his still dirty face. "Gary!" He said more certainly, trying the name on his lips like a taste he had long forgotten.

Bill raced to his side, unsure of what to do. Wanting more than anything to embrace him but too afraid to hurt him. Instead he took his friends weak hand in his own and squeezed.

"It's me, Gary. It's me, Bill."

The blue eyes met his own, and a small smile spread on his pale lips. "You…you're here."

He let out a short laugh. "Yes. I'm here. We're all here." Bill looked up at the team, looking around for Gary. "Guys." His voice broke, and they turned to him through the people filling the room. " I found him."

Nina walked through the mass of people, and it was as though everything was put in slow motion. The sounds of the hospital were drowned out by the loud beating of her heart. She watched wide eyed as Cameron raced ahead of her, approaching Bill and Doctor Rosen who looked down at a figure on a stretcher.

"Oh God," she whispered and tore through the people as though blind. "Please…"

"Nina." A familiar voice came from the figure on the bed, his eyes meeting her own and Nina covered her mouth as she sobbed.

"Gary."

"I'm sorry, do you know him?" A doctor in a white lab coat touched Rosen's shoulder, and the old man turned to look at him, eyes filled with tears.

"Yes, yes, we know him. His name is Gary Bell."

"Perfect. I'm afraid though that I need to pull him into surgery, he's broken some ribs and we're afraid they may have pierced his lungs. Stay here and we'll inform you of any developments, ok?"

Doctor Rosen looked down at the autistic boy on the stretcher, the ragged breathing tearing his heart. He nodded, but before the doctor left, he grabbed his arm.

"Please, please make sure he's alright. We can't lose him again."

The young physician looked at him in understanding and gave him a small reassuring smile before turning back to his patient.

A group of doctors began rolling the stretcher away and they could hear Gary's strangled cries as he was pulled away from his friends. Cameron raced alongside them, pulling off the blue armband he wore and putting it on Gary's wrist. "We'll be right here; you're going to be ok. I promise." The alpha swore, doctors pulling him back as the doors snapped shut before him.

"I promise."

Cameron looked back at his friends, Bill still in shock over what happened. Nina had sunken to the floor; sobbing to herself, black hair in a disarray. A nurse walked over and pulled her in an embrace and the beautiful woman cried out in the stranger's arms, struggling to breath.

Rosen's eyes were closed as he stood in the middle of the hallway. _He's going to be ok. He's going to be ok._

Nurses brought them chairs and bade them to sit, bringing water and checking them, stitching up the wounds they hadn't even realized they'd received in the battle. A change of clothes came next, brought in by Skylar who had prepared suitcases with their things beforehand.

At her side was her beautiful blonde haired daughter, their hands clasped tightly.

Now clean, healed, and hydrated, the team waited. Every second lasted a century, every breath making painfully aware the emptiness in their chests.

The sun had set when Rosen looked up to see the same doctor walking toward them, a clipboard in his hands.

"Is he...is he ok?" Bill asked, Nina closed her eyes and Cameron held her tighter.

Looking at the four of them, he nodded with a smile. "He's going to make a full recovery."

They laughed out loud, embracing each other, and Rosen approached the doctor, shaking his hands. "How is he?"

"His legs were shattered in the blast, so he'll be in a wheelchair for at least two months, but after some rehab he should be fine. We repaired the broken ribs and the scars, his lungs were thankfully not as damaged as we'd previously assessed. It'll be a long recovery, but Mr. Bell should be fine."

"Thank you, thank you so much."

"Just doing my job. Would you like to see him? He's in room 101 and he'll remain there until we're sure he's stable. Week max. Let me show you the way."

When they walked into the room he was asleep, still under from the anesthetic they had put on him. He wore a white hospital shirt, sheets pulled to his waist. Tubes left through his nose and came from his wrists, but otherwise you'd have thought he was perfectly healthy.

But the bruises on his arms and face, the dark circles under his closed eyes, the gauntness of his face told a different story.

_What things has he been through for the price of being born different? What things has he seen, what things has he heard, what things has he felt all because he was himself and no one else? _Rosen thought as he pulled up a chair and sat by Gary's bedside, the boy's breathing the most comforting thing. Because the steady rise and fall of his chest meant that in this moment, he was alive. In this moment he was safe. In this moment, they could finally be there to protect him.

Gary is warm. He is warm and comfortable, things he hasn't felt in a long time. Today he hasn't woken to screams, how strange. The alpha opens his eyes, and fear grips him as he sees a white ceiling and fluorescent lights. His heart beats faster. A beeping noise, what is it? It beeps faster and faster and faster, won't it be quiet? Then suddenly, a warm voice and a warm hand on his own.

"It's alright Gary. You're safe. You're in a hospital."

A familiar voice. Bill's. Gary smiles, how nice of his delusions to inform him of his whereabouts. The soft mattress beneath him shifts. Someone else has sat on it.

A warm hand caresses his face, and someone leans over and kisses him gently on the forehead. Hair tickles his nose as the figure bends over him. Hair that smells like strawberries and shampoo. Nina.

The wrinkled hand that grasps his own, Doctor Rosen.

A low laugh. Cameron.

The pieces of the jigsaw begin to fit together, slowly, but surely.

Broken memories become whole, begin to connect. All alone in a cell, sleeping. Suddenly an alarm flooding the room, and the bright white lights went out, instead a flashing red keeping him from complete darkness. Screams echo outside, rising on unsteady feet. The cell door unlocking with a click. Uncertainty and fear. Walking out the door, figures running past him (on wobbly feet, oftentimes falling down). He follows them. Then a boom and a crash, screams rippling through the halls. The ceiling collapses and pain as he is dragged under, a cry of pain when something smashes his legs. Then warm hands pulling him from the rubble, holding him tight. Lifting him onto a plane until away away away they go, far away. His heart still beats fasts, and he's placed on a stretcher. Then he can see them, the signals. They race around him, embrace him. They've missed him. He reached arm to touch them, to stroke them, because he's missed them too. Opens the nearest one, one that is a bright red and not to far away. A newsfeed. A reporter is talking about a terrorist attack on a government facility. He sees the videos, a great gray building collapsing in the center, planes hovering over and cyclones falling from the sky. He watched the signals until he feels the plane fall, landing somewhere unknown. Hands roll him from the plane and he's pulled quickly in a hospital, someone looks over him. Gives him a blanket, and he is warm. A mask is put over his face. He can breathe easier now.

Then a familiar voice. He murmurs their name because he misses him even though he knows he can't be here. But suddenly Bill is there, his face swimming in his vision. He was so tired. More people come. Nina. Rosen. Bill. Cameron who gives him back his armband and he can feel it on his wrist now.

Nina. Rosen. Bill. Cameron.

Somebody's missing.

"Rachel." He mutters, opening his eyes.

"Gary!" Nina looks down at him and Doctor Rosen is squeezes his hand.

"Where's Rachel?" Gary asks, looking around.

Bill and Cameron look at each other, but in the end it's Doctor Rosen who speaks.

"Rachel is in a comma, Gary. But she's going to be fine. Now how are—"

"I want to see her." The boy attempts to get up but he can't, hands keeping him down anyways.

"You can't go see her now Gary, you're still sick."

He nods and finally looks up at them. Doctor Rosen is seated at his right. He has more wrinkles now, Gary notes. Cameron and Bill stand next to the bed, looking down at him. They have cuts on their faces, so does Nina, but she's sitting on his left side.

They are all here. This isn't a dream.

"You came." Gary says to them-his voice sounds strange to his ears.

"Of course we did." Bill smiles down at him. "We missed you, partner."

"Yes, partners save each other. Which is why I need to go see Rachel."

"Sorry?"

"I'm her partner too so I need to go wake her up. I need to see her." Gary attempts to get up again, only he can't.

But Doctor Rosen understands, he always does, and the old man leaves the room. He comes back with a doctor in a long white coat and Gary stiffens.

"Hello Gary. I'm Doctor Grayson. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling fine, but I need to go see Rachel because she's not feeling fine like me."

"Alright, but we're going to push you in the wheelchair, ok? She's in the room next to yours."

Bill and Cameron approach him and Gary feels their strong arms lift him into the wheelchair. Both his legs are heavily bandaged—he can't move them. Pain shoots through his body when he sits, but it passes, leaving only a throbbing head ache.

But he needs to see Rachel.

Nina wheels him out into the white hallway. She turns him sharply and Bill opens the door.

Then he sees her.

She's asleep, her brown hair spread over the white pillow. Her skin is the color of caramel, just like he remembers. He's missed her. Nina wheels him closer and Gary just looks at Rachel.

"Rachel? Rachel, its Gary."

No reply. Why doesn't she answer him?

"Rachel."

Nothing.

He leans over in his wheelchair and grabs her hand, holding it tightly. "Rachel I'm home. You need to wake up now."

Behind them Nina is crying softly, face buried in Cameron's chest.

"Rachel I'm here. You need to wake up. I'm here Rachel, I'm home."

* * *

><p>He stays by her side for two days, leaving only when they need to care of him. Holds her hand and tell her stories, about what's happening. But still she doesn't wake.<p>

Then one afternoon, when the sun is high in the sky and its rays shine in through the window, she finally does. Nina and Cameron are playing checkers, and Bill is laughing as Nina beats Cameron with ease. Doctor Rosen is playing with Skylar's daughter and Skylar herself is playing with something in the corner. Every couple of seconds Gary knows they look at him, he can feel their eyes on him, be it Bill's, Nina's, Cameron's, or Rosen's. As though they are worried he'll disappear.

He's holding Rachel's hand when Gary feels her fingers tighten around his pale ones.

"Rachel!"

The others run to her bedside, the game on the table long forgotten as they look over her.

"What happened, Gary?" Doctor Rosen asks, looking at the autistic boy.

"She squeezed my fingers, see? And now ,ouch, she's holding on tightly."

Cameron laughs aloud as he sees the intertwined fingers, but then suddenly a voice comes from the still figure.

"Gary?"

"Rachel! I'm here Rachel."

"Doctor!" Bill shouts and nurses follow Dr. Grayson as he rushes into the room, checking her vitals.

Then her dark brown eyes open, hesitant at first, blinking against the light. But then they are open, finally open.

"Rachel…" Bill whispers, kneeling at her side.

She smiles. "Everyone's here." Rachel whispers, looking at all the faces around her. Her family is with her-Bill, Cameron, Nina, Rosen, Skylar. And Gary he's here. As though he's never left.

"Everyone's here, everyone's safe."

* * *

><p>It's been two months. Both Gary and Rachel were released from the hospital after two weeks, the doctors happy to say they'll make a full recovery. Gary is learning to walk again, but he spends most of his time in the wheel chair. But he's getting better. There are days when he goes without it, those days when he isn't so weak. Everyone is regaining strength, the scars are finally beginning to fade, the bruises are finally gone. Even in their minds, the memories aren't so sharp. But still Gary wakes up in the middle of the night, screaming, and he's come to doing the same in the mornings. Doctor Rosen says it's ok, it's the way he copes with things. But when the team wakes up in the middle of night to the sound of their friend yelling, it brings back memories of things that they wished could be long forgotten.<p>

They live on the same street. Bill, Gary, and Rachel live in one house. They each have their own bedroom and bathroom, so it's ok. Skylar and her daughter live with Doctor Rosen and his daughter, Danny. The two were reunited soon after Rachel had woken in the hospital. Cameron and Nina now have their own house, just across the street. Bill hasn't seen his wife in a very long time. She thinks he's dead, or that's at least what the government released. Agent Bill Harken was killed in the terrorist attack on the Binghamton facility, as well as Doctor Lee Rosen, Nina Thouroux, and Rachel Pirzad. Gary Bell was killed in a burglary that killed both him and his mom.

Sometimes Bill cries because he can't see his wife, Gary sees this even if Bill let's no one else. But he still has hope that he'll see her again after everything has relaxed, because still the country is abuzz with the terrorist attack that killed thousands of prisoners in the area that no one ever spoke about. Gary cries too, about his mother. He cries because he hadn't the chance to thank her. Hadn't had the chance to say goodbye.

The fight for equality still remains sharp in their hearts, but for now they'd lie low. They'd heal. Then, when the world was ready, Red Flag would unleash its next attack. Except it won't be violent, no. They'll start to find alphas, bring them here, and when everyone was sure, the alphas will let themselves be known to the world. It was Tiana's idea. She's now one of the heads of Red Flag, she still visits them. They're family has become larger. Gwen, Zachary, Hazel, Tiana, Belinda, Shane, they've all entered each other's hearts. It's strange for many of them, to have people who love them, and it'll take getting used to. But it's not a bad change, not bad at all.

* * *

><p>He's in a meadow. Soft grass cradles him and he's wearing his favorite blue shirt. The sun is warm. A tall man and another with dark skin toss a baseball nearby. A woman with dark hair and a graying old doctor sit down laughing at them. He turns his head. A woman with coffee colored skin is finding shapes in the fluffy clouds above them. She points to a rabbit with a pink white tail to their left. A heart passing high above them. The signals are so beautiful. They swirl above him lazily, they too are enjoying this spring day. The air is sweet and the bells of laughter frequent. A woman with short blonde hair approaches them. Cookies. He reaches for one….<p>

And he takes it.

It's chocolate chip, and two girls, one with long brown hair, one with short brown hair take one as well, sitting next to him and pointing out shapes he hasn't seen before. Two other men join in the game of baseball; a girl with highlights watches them with the doctor and the older lady. A woman with blonde hair makes a soft breeze, and all the little white dandelions explode, their translucent petals flying up into the sky, clinging to his hair.

The lab is gone now, there is only light. The darkness is gone now only light.

_the end_


End file.
